This Night

Chapter 231

Author's Note: Ok, so I'm going to go check on Rick and group. I really want everyone in one spot. Dang these writers! Thank you Guest who said that you couldn't stop reading! Makes me happy. Thank you for everyone who is reading and reviewing. I refuse to put down Gabriel's POV because I don't like him. So if he's interacting with others, it will only be there POV. Please review.

Church group.

Rick held Judith to his chest as he kissed the top of her head and sighed. He reluctantly handed her over to Michonne. He walked over to Carl and hugged him. ""We'll be back soon."

Carl nodded. "I know," he said.

"You take care of Jewel, and the kids. Mind what Michonne and Jewel says," Rick told his son.

"I know dad," Carl told him.

Rick walked over to Jewel and took Hope out of her arms. He kissed the top of her head before he handed her to Mika. He reached for Jewel and caressed her face before he kissed her. "You say the word, right now, and I won't go. Michonne can take my place."

Jewel kissed him. "Go get Beth and Carol back. You make sure you bring back Summer and Daryl. That's what I want, what I need you to do."

Rick nodded as he kissed her pressing his lips against her ear. "I love you Mrs. Grimes."

Jewel squeezed his arm. "I love you Mr. Grimes," she told him.

"You'll help Carl keep an eye on them, right Mitch?" Daryl told him.

"Of course," Mitch said as he hugged Mar. "Be careful."

"We're all coming back, and we're bringing everyone back," Mar told him.

Summer nodded. "That we are," she told them.

Lexi hugged Ty. "Keep an eye on Sasha, don't let her do anything stupid," she whispered to him.

"I'll do my best," Ty assured her.

Rick nodded. "Alright, time to go," he said as he kissed Jewel again. He picked up his bag and went to the door closing one while Michonne closed the other side.

"Let me take Judith," Lexi said as she took her so Michonne could help Carl with putting a board on the door. "Shh, it's alright Judy, they'll be back then we'll go to Washington and end this thing. Yes," she said as she bounced her on her hip.

Jewel kissed the top of Judith's head as she took Hope from Mika. "I know, you just want daddy huh Judith? It's alright, so do I."

Mika touched her foot. "It's OK Judy, we're here," she assured her. She looked over at Gabriel who had started to try to get the blood off the floor with his fingernails.

Mika's POV:

Mika picked up some rags and went over to him. "We can't waste water, that's for drinking and making bottles for Judith, but here's some rags," she said as she bent down to help him.

Gabriel looked at her. "You are a sweet child."

Mika started to scrape the floorboards with the cloth. "I know you don't feel comfortable with what happened a couple nights ago. I know you think it was wrong."

"Because it was, child. Murder is wrong," Gabriel told her.

"Mika, my name is Mika. You're right, it is. And, I never want to get to the point that I feel alright about it because that means that I am as bad as those people. I feel sorry for what they've become, but what Rick and the others did, it was to save us. We can't leave people like that alive anymore, Rick tried, they all tried. But, they always come back. My sister and a whole lot of good people are dead because they tried to leave a man called the Governor alone," Mika explained.

"You have been brainwashed by the people who are supposed to protect you," Gabriel told her.

"No, I haven't. I was saved by these people. Jewel didn't have to watch over me, she could have left me there and escaped with Hope. But she made sure that I got out, with Hope, while she stayed behind. A bad person doesn't do that," Mika told him as she looked at him in the eyes. "It's a shame that I think you would leave me behind, or any of us, if you thought you could save yourself, and you wear a collar. I miss going to Sunday school with my parents, and Lizzie. I used to love lessons, used to get excited for Summer Bible School, Lizzie not so much. But, I remember one of our last lessons. Matthew 7.1 said Do not judge so that you will not be judged," she told him. "Did you really not open the door to your congregation?" she asked.

Jewel had been listening from the pew as she changed Hope. Mika was a smart child and had a light about her that she hoped she could keep. "Mika asked you a question, Gabriel. She deserves an answer from you. I mean so we don't brainwash her or anything."

Gabriel looked over his shoulder at her then at Mika. "I was scared, and it was wrong."

Mika stood up and looked at him. "I get scared all the time, but you have to do the right thing to protect others. You were scared, you saved yourself, and that was wrong," she said as she walked away.

"From the mouth of babes," Jewel hissed at Gabriel.

Rescue Group:

Summer leaned against Joey in the back of the truck as she looked over at Sasha and Ty, She noticed that Ty kept looking at Sasha like she was going to break.

Sasha finally looked at him and sighed. "Yeah?" she asked.

"You know I've been there," Ty told Sasha.

"I know," Sasha answered.

"Bob, he would have wanted," Ty started to say.

"Don't, I'm sorry, but please don't, okay?" Sasha asked as she got up to move away from Ty.

Summer got up and went to sit with her.

Sasha sighed. "I moved back here to be alone."

Summer nodded. "I know, but if you forgot, no one gets to do anything alone anymore. I'm not going to say anything, I'm just going to sit here, quiet as a church mouse," she said.

Sasha glanced at her. "You're still talking."

"You said something, I responded, then you said something and I had to respond. My mother always told me not to be rude," Summer told her.

Sasha shook her head. "I don't think I said it, with everything that was going on, I'm sorry about Merle."

Summer nodded. "Thanks," she answered. "It's not the same though."

Sasha looked at her. "What?"

"Merle was my Uncle, I was born into his family. I'm supposed to grieve because he was my blood. But, now, blood don't mean anything. You're as much as my family, my sister, as Hope is. Me losing Uncle Merle can't be compared to what you're feeling with losing Bob. You were in love with Bob," Summer told her.

Sasha looked away. "It doesn't matter now."

Summer reached over and squeezed her hand. "Of course it matters, Sash. In a world filled with despair and doom, you were able to grab a couple days of happiness. A couple days in this world, well that equals to a lifetime now. Bob died knowing that he was loved by you," she told her.

"You know, I'm supposed to be the older one offering advice," Sasha told her as she hugged her.

"I read," Summer said with a smirk as she hugged back.

Carl and Lexi POV:

Carl put weapons down in front of Gabriel as he was trying to clean the blood off the floor. "Pick one. You need to learn to defend yourself, we can teach you."

Jewel started to stand as Michonne put her hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"Defend myself?" Gabriel questioned. "They said they would go," he told Carl.

"They would have, but they would have came back. They would have got more people and they would have came back. Did you see what they did to Bob?" Lexi questioned.

"Have you seen mom's eye? One of them tried to kill her, would have to if it wasn't for Merle, and we lost him. They were liars and murderers," Carl added.

"Just like us," Gabriel answered.

"You aren't part of us," Lexi told him. "If you want to consider yourself like them, go ahead. But the rest of us, we are nothing like them. We want to survive, to live, to make a life. You want to hide in this church and pretend nothings changed, and it has."

Michonne and Jewel exchanged glances as both of them took care of Judith and Hope.

Carl nodded. "We protected ourselves. We protected Hope and Judith. They would have never let you out of here with them. That was just a lie to get you to open the door. They wanted us dead," he said.

"They wanted us as dinner," Lexi corrected him.

"You're lucky that your church lasted this long. You can't stay in one place anymore, not for too long," Carl told him.

Jewel and Michonne looked at Carl and exchanged glances that expressed they wanted to keep him and the others protected.

"People want what you have, and they'll come for it," Lexi added. "You're lucky it was us who answered your call for help and not them. You would have been dinner. They wouldn't have cared that you were a priest," she informed him. "They didn't care Jewel just had a baby, they would have killed them both."

Carl nodded. "Once you're out there, you're gonna find trouble you can't hide from. You need to know how to fight," he reiterated.

Lexi and Carl watched as Gabriel picked up a knife.

"Good choice," both of them said.

"But you're not holding it right. You've got to be able to drive it down cause sometimes their skulls aren't soft and you need to be able to…." Carl started to instruct him.

Gabriel stopped him and looked down. "I'm sorry," he said as he got up. "I need to lie down."

Lexi looked after him. "Well at least he took the knife," she told Carl.

Michonne and Jewel's POV:

Jewel watched as the four kids played a board game as she rocked Hope.

Michonne came over to stand by her. "Finally got Judith down. How are you doing?"

"Fine," Jewel answered.

Michonne leaned against the boarded door. "No you aren't. I saw your face as you listened to Carl and Lexi. You were thinking the same thing as I was, that they were losing hope," she said. "Speaking of Hope, hand her over. Come on, little monkey, give your mommy's arms a break," she said as she took her and kissed the top of her head.

Jewel glanced back up to where the four kids were. "I just realized Carl wasn't that little boy I first met at the quarry. He was so sweet and Lori kept his hair cut. Mitch, oh God, he was timid and barely spoke a word to anyone," she reminisced. "They were both children, children that we were protecting from the horrors of this world. Lexi saw it while she was out there with Ty and Sasha, before they joined us. Mika reminds me of Sophia, Carol's daughter, sweet and innocent. But, I'm seeing a hardening in her that comes from living in this world. Summer…I don't even recognize her as the same person she was."

Michonne gave a small laugh. "You should, she's becoming you. The way she fights for what she loves, the way she glares at you when you say something she doesn't like. She gets quiet and doesn't want to talk to anyone when she gets upset. Plus she loves unconditionally."

"I can't even protect them from this world touching them, what chance does Hope and Judith have?" Jewel asked.

"They have us, all of us. That's a whole lot better then most people have. I know you would do anything for any of them, for any child. They all need you in this world, because you would do anything to keep them safe. Every child needs a Jewel Dixon in there lives in this world," Michonne teased her.

Jewel laughed. "Oh God, I don't know if the rest of the world could handle another me," she told the other woman. "They aren't only lucky to have me, they have you too."

Michonne looked down at Hope. "I'm just glad you and Rick let me get my baby cuddles in. I was dead inside before I came upon all of you. Being alone, and even with Andrea, I had sealed myself in. You all brought me back to life. We will find another place, somewhere we can start again. Somewhere we can be safe, to let them and these babies a place to be kids."

Jewel looked at her. "If such a place exists anymore."

"It does, and if it doesn't, we'll build it. Just like the prison," Michonne told her. "Yes, you're with me on this aren't you Hope? Of course you are. You, me and Judith are going to be thick of thieves. When mommy and daddy say no, you just come to Aunty Michonne."

Jewel shook her head. "Unless it's something dangerous then Aunty Michonne will tell you no too!"