This Night

Chapter 248

Author's Note: This is another chapter set in Alexandria. Next chapter or the chapter after will be Ty (poor Ty. Poor Sasha. Poor Lexi) I think it's important (not that the writers of the show did) to show Alexandria before our group there. Quinn is going to be on Rick and his people's side, because she knows they've been lucky so far. Not all people can be talking about dang pasta makers. Please refer to chapter 244 (Alexandria safe zone residents) for OC's. Once again not all will be introduced here. Please review.

Monroe family:

Reg met his daughter at the door and kissed her cheek. "Where's Bri? You know I love talking gardening with my favorite girl."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I thought I was your favorite girl?" she asked with a grin. "Chloe didn't want to come, so Gus and Bri stayed behind," she told her.

"You are one of my favorite girls, Bri just happens to be my favorite granddaughter," Reg teased.

"Chloe didn't want to come? Or you didn't want her to come?" Aiden asked as he drank a beer.

"Chloe didn't want to come. Something about seeing you reminds her that her brother is never coming home and that you did," Quinn said.

"How about a hug for the brother you actually like?" Spencer asked as he came downstairs.

Quinn hugged him. "Didn't expect you to be here tonight. Thought you were on guard duty?"

"Mom wanted all of us to be here, something about not having her children in the same room enough," Spencer said.

Quinn looked at him. "Who's on guard duty?"

"No one Quinn, it's not necessary all the time. We're safe here," Deanna said.

Quinn went to sit at the table. "Mom, I don't think that's such a good idea. If something wants to get in, a dummy with a gun isn't going to do a thing."

"Nothing's going to get in, the walls keep those things out," Aiden said.

"I'm not necessarily talking about the dead ones," Quinn said. "Phoebe and Enid can tell you that not all the people out there are good people."

"Yet you're alright with sending Aaron, Eric and Phoebe out there to look for more people tomorrow," Aiden said.

"That was my decision, Aiden," Deanna told her son. "We need people that know what it's like to be out there," Deanna told her son.

"We also need to be armed in here. We need to teach people how to shoot, how to defend ourselves. We've been lucky so far," Quinn told them.

"Here we go again. Ever since we were children, you always look for the bad in everything. Like you can't just see that Nicholas and I weren't responsible for the death of Will and the others. You just want someone to blame," Aiden told her.

"She isn't blaming you, Aiden," Spencer told him.

"Yes I am," Quinn readily answered. "Stay out of it, Spencer. You were in charge out there, Aiden. Not Will, not the others, but you and Nicholas. You're a self described douche bag, remember?"

"Enough, both of you," Deanna told them. "A nice family dinner without the two of you arguing, that's all I'm asking. You should have brought Bri,"

"Bri wanted to stay home with Chloe," Quinn responded, as she restrained herself from looking at Aiden.

"You're babying her to much, she should already be back in school," Aiden told Quinn.

Quinn dropped her fork and looked at him. "I'm sorry, are you a parent?" she asked.

"You aren't Chloe's parent or her family," Aiden told her.

"Aiden," Spencer warned.

Quinn stood. "I'm her parent now, I'm her family now. What would you like me to do Aiden? Send her out there with you, so she gets left behind too?" she questioned. "I'm sorry mom, but if you want a family dinner where two of your children don't fight, maybe you better give two other people the job of being your children," she said as she kissed Reg's cheek. "Sorry dad," she said as she walked out the door.

Spencer stood up. "I'll go talk with her."

Spencer and Quinn's POV:

Spencer walked out the door and caught up with Quinn. "Want to talk about it?"

"No," Quinn answered.

"You know growing up, people always told me that it was always the oldest and youngest that fought and that the middle children were the peacemakers. It must be nice," Spencer said with a small grin.

"You can't fix stupid, Spencer," Quinn answered.

"You really think Aiden had something to do with Will's and the others deaths? I don't believe he would do anything to endanger people," Spencer said.

Quinn shook her head and sighed. "Spencer, Aiden is reckless and he shouldn't be leading supply runs. Do I think he put a gun to Will's head? No, I don't. But do I think that him and Nicholas would run to save there lives while risking others? Yes, I do. Aiden's never been one to stand up and fight, he always ran. I remember when I was fourteen and he was twelve, and one of the guys on his baseball team hit him. Aiden didn't throw a punch, he ran away. I walked up to the kid later, tapped him on his shoulder and I punched him. Mom should have someone else in charge of the supply runs, like Gus. Someone who can face danger, not Aiden," she told him. "I'm going home, Spence. You should go back on guard duty," she said as she walked away.

Phoebe, Noel and Liam's POV:

Phoebe knocked on Noel's door, as she messed up Liam's hair. "You need a haircut."

"Aunt Phoebe, my hair's fine, if you'd stop messing with it," the eight year old told her.

"I don't know, it's getting a little long. I always wanted a niece," Phoebe said as she tickled him as the door opened.

"Hey, come on in you two," Noel answered as he opened the door wider.

Phoebe smiled as she walked in. "I think I packed everything he needs. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone. Aaron said we'll be going further out then they have before, so it may be a couple weeks or so," she told the older man.

"We'll have fun won't we bud?" Noel asked.

"We're going to blow things up," Liam said proudly.

"Hush, that's supposed to be a secret," Noel told him.

Phoebe laughed. "Like that's much of a secret? The science teacher in you love making things explode, and this one likes helping. Go on and put your stuff in Noel's spare room. Put things away, you know in that thing called a closet? They have these things called hangers."

Liam rolled his eyes as he went upstairs.

Noel laughed. "It's a boy thing."

"Thank you for watching him. I wouldn't be comfortable going out if you hadn't agreed to watch him. You're good with him," Phoebe told him.

Noel walked to the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"Yeah," Phoebe answered. "You're thinking about your son?"

"He was Liam's age when he was killed by a drunk driver," Noel answered as he poured her coffee. "I was a different man after that happened. I started drinking heavily, my wife left me, I lost my job at the college. You've heard all this before," he said as he sat down across from him. "I like causing mischief with Liam. I know you struggle with raising him. You're a twenty three year old woman raising an eight year old. Something that you never expected to be doing. So I am glad to help in any way I can."

"None of us expected for the dead to start walking. We do what we have to do," Phoebe said as she touched his arm. "Thank you for the help."

Noel nodded. "You never have to ask you know that."

Liam came down the stairs. "All set," he said.

"Oh really? So if I go up stairs, I won't find clothes all over the place?" Phoebe asked.

"Don't you need to go meet Eric and Aaron?" Liam asked.

Both Noel and Phoebe laughed. "Oh that sounds like a yes to me," Phoebe said as she hugged him. "Alright, you behave, you listen to what Noel says. I want a good report when I get back."

"Be careful out there," Liam told her.

"Well I've got to keep Aaron from getting shot if we find survivors with his whole 'I've got good news' spiel," Phoebe said as she hugged him. "Thanks again," she told Noel as she left.

Aaron, Eric, Emily and Phoebe's POV:

Phoebe walked down the street towards Aaron's house as she heard someone behind her.

"Oh Phoebe dear, can I have a moment of your time?" Mrs. Neidermeyer calls out from behind her.

Phoebe took a breath as she turned around. "Yes Mrs. Neidermeyer? Is there something I can help you with?"

"I know you are going out tomorrow with Aaron and Eric. I was just wondering if you could keep an eye out for me for a pasta maker. Fresh pasta is the best," Mrs. Neidermeyer told her.

Phoebe took a breath as she looked at her. "We're looking for survivors, not supplies. But, I'll tell you what, if we find survivors, I'll be sure to ask them if they happen to have a pasta maker on them. I mean who knows, maybe someone just couldn't leave home with out one. Maybe it makes a wonderful weapon, who knows right? But you might have to pick out some of the dead one's guts if that's the case. I really have to go, Mrs. Neidermeyer. But I'll be sure to ask them, just in case," she told the older woman as she turned around and rolled her eyes. She walked into Aaron's house without knocking. "Sorry, I got stopped by Mrs. Neidermeyer."

"She didn't ask you about the pasta maker did she?" Emily asked.

Phoebe tilted her head and looked at her. "Of course she did. When does anything useful ever come out of her mouth?"

"What did you say?" Aaron asked.

"I told her that I would be sure to ask any survivors we find if they happen to have a pasta maker on them, though she might have to wash the gunk out of it if it's used as a weapon," Phoebe answered as she sat down at the dinner table.

Eric laughed as he put his hand over his mouth. "I wish I could have seen her reaction. You know she probably thinks you are going to ask survivors that, you know?"

"Hey that could be our new spiel Aaron. We've got this safe zone, and the entry is a pasta maker," Phoebe teased.

Emily laughed. "Oh God, Aaron, I feel bad for you having to deal with these two," she said as she sat food down in front of them.

"What? We make life interesting," Eric told his younger sister.

"Very interesting. Wouldn't want to get bored out there," Phoebe told Emily.

"You got Liam over with Noel?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah," Phoebe answered. "I loaded up the van with supplies, blankets, first aid supplies. Pete was very stingy with giving up bandages."

"Pete's always like that. He won't even let Denise in the infirmary," Emily said. "How did you get them?"

"Oh I just grabbed Gus and told him what I needed and he got it. Pete's a bit afraid of Gus," Emily said with a grin as she took a bite of her food. "Are we all ready to leave in the morning?"

Aaron nodded. "Loaded up the RV with food, got a car loaded with the listening devices. We find anyone, we play it safe. Listen for a while."

"Do you think anyone that's been out there this long still has any humanity left in them?" Emily asked.

Phoebe looked at them. "It's hard, harder then you can imagine out there. To stay alive, to survive, it eats away at your soul. People can be cruel, people can be evil. The longer people are out there, they've had to do things to survive that some of the people in here wouldn't understand. I did things out there to keep Liam safe that I haven't told anyone, and I probably never would. There are things that people just don't need to know. A year ago, I never thought I could live here and be living a somewhat normal life. Spent a few weeks wide awake at night, expecting one of the dead to be around every corner. That this place was a figment of my imagination, that I finally broke. I'm not going to say that anyone we find isn't going to have blood on there hands, because you don't survive out there without it," she told them as she got silent.

Aaron reached over and squeezed her hand. "You aren't out there anymore."

Phoebe nodded. "I know. So we leave first thing in the morning?"

"At first light," Eric answered.