Better Days

Chapter 259

Author's Note: Work is trying to stress me to my limits. Seriously am brain dead when I come home. So, I do apologize if it takes me a while. I want them in Alexandria just as much as you do! Please review.

Group POV:

Jewel looked up as Hope started to fuss and quickly checked the dilation in Aaron's eyes as she stood up. "He seems to be alright for now," she said as she went over to Rick. She kissed his cheek. "Just take it easy alright?" she asked softly as she took Hope. "You hungry baby girl?"

Aaron looked around. "You're being cautious. I completely understand," he told them.

"I don't think you do," Lexi commented from beside Carl.

Rick looked at him. "How many of your people are out there? You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?" he asked.

Aaron looked at him. "Does it matter?" he asked.

Jewel and Mar exchanged looks as Rick looked at him. "Yes, yes it does," Rick told him.

"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say... eight, 32, 444, zero... No matter what I say, you're not going to trust me," Aaron told him.

"He does have a point," David told them. "We aren't."

Rick glanced at him. "Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face," he said.

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road? Well technically it was Phoebe who left them, she insisted. Usually that's my job, especially since it's her first time out here since I rescued her a year ago," Aaron told them.

Daryl looked back at the water bottles then stepped forward. "How long you people been following us?"

"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail. Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world," Aaron told them.

Jewel took a breath as she watched Rick. "Rick," she said in a calming voice.

Rick nodded as he took a step forward. "How many others' are out there?"

"Two. I knew you wouldn't believe me. If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real? What if I drove you to the community? All of you? We'll meet up with Jes and Phoebe and the other person. We leave now, we'll get there by lunch," Aaron pleaded.

"You're protective of the other person. You are deliberately not saying his or her name to protect them. You care about this person, you don't want us to know his or her name because you don't want us to hurt them. You are in love with this person, willing to die for this person," Jewel said as she nursed Hope. "We know a little bit about that, don't we Rick?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah, yeah we do," he answered her. "I'm not sure all of us are going to fit in the car that you and your friends drove down here in," he told Aaron.

"We drove separately. If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us," Aaron answered.

"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Carol questioned.

"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it," Aaron told them.

"Would this Phoebe person be at one of the cars with Jes?" Joey asked.

"I told Phoebe if there was trouble, to run to the RV. I didn't want her to make contact with any of you. She's got a nephew at home and she is his only living relative. He wanted her to come out here and help save people like I did with them," Aaron explained.

"You've thought this through," Rick told him.

Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here. You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit. You can trust me," Aaron told them.

"He's right dad, if this was a trap he could have killed Sasha and I and we wouldn't have even seen it coming," Summer told them.

Michonne nodded. "I'll check out the cars."

"There aren't any cars," Rick told them.

"There's only one way to find out," Michonne said.

"We don't need to find out," Rick told her.

Jewel put her hand on Rick's arm. "Rick, I think we do need to find out. Just so we know for sure. We can handle anything that comes our way, we know that. But, if this place is real, shouldn't we at least give it a chance? Shouldn't we at least go see if there are cars. Remember we always said, that some where out there, there had to be people like us. People who had humanity, people who aren't psycho one eyed, cannibalistic, deranged former police officers," she told him.

Beth put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "You just made a whole new name for all the bad people we've met."

Michonne nodded. "You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not," she told him.

"Neither am I," Maggie said.

"Your way is dangerous, mine isn't," Rick told her.

"Passing up someplace where we can live? Where Judith and Hope can live? Where Mika and Mitch can be regular kids, laugh and have fun without worrying about walkers' hearing them? That's pretty dangerous. We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves, so that's what we're going to do," Michonne told him.

Jewel kissed the top of Hope's head to block the smirk on her face. "We need to find Jes anyway, and he says that this Phoebe person would have taken her back to the RV."

Joey nodded. "I'm going to go find Jes anyway, might as well check it out."

Glenn nodded. "Then I will too, I'll go."

Summer nodded. "I'm in. We don't leave people behind. You taught me that, Dad."

Rick sighed as he looked around. "Abraham," he said.

"Yeah, I'll walk with them," Abraham answered.

"Rosita?" Rick asked.

"Okay," she answered as she grabbed her gun.

Rick looked at Glenn. "If there's trouble, you got enough firepower?"

"We got what we got," Glenn answered.

Jewel handed Summer her gun as Rick handed Glenn the gun that Aaron was carrying. "The walkie's are out of juice, if you're not back in sixty minutes, we'll come. Which may be exactly what they want," Rick told them. "If we're all in here, we're a target," Rick told them.

"I got the area covered," Daryl told them.

"I'm with you," David said.

"Alright, group of twos, find somewhere safe within eyeshot," Rick told them as the group started wondering out.

Jewel glanced at Rick. "Don't think I'm going anywhere," she told him as she squeezed Lexi's shoulder. "Make sure you keep Mika and Mitch with you."

"I got this," Lexi told her.

Mika hesitated a moment then looked at Rick. "Rick can I stay here? I could help with Judith and Hope if there's a problem. Jewel and I make a real good team," Mika told him. "I'll stay out of the way, and it'll free up both of your arms if you do need to protect Hope and Judith."

Jewel gave a small smile. "She's right, we do make a good team."

Rick nodded at Lexi and Carl to go. "You can stay Mika. But I don't want you anywhere near him."

Mika smiled at Rick. "I think he's a good guy, like you. I think he's just trying to do the right thing by helping us. Just like you did at the prison. Or after Terminus. You've kept us safe and we've became a family. I think that there's still good people in this world, Rick. And maybe, he's one of them."

Rick kissed the top of Mika's head. "Maybe," he agreed with her as he looked at Jewel.

"I'll take Judith for a bit," Mika told him. "Come on, let's go see Hope and mommy."

"She's a sweet child, still can look at the bright side of things, even through all the bad," Aaron told Rick as he walked over to look out the window. "When the world was still the world, I worked for an NGO. Our mission was to deliver medicine and food to the Niger River Delta. Bad people pointed guns in my face every other week. You're not bad people. You're not going to kill us. And we are definitely not going to kill you," Aaron told him.

"Just because we're good people doesn't mean we won't kill you. If the seven of them aren't back in an hour... I'll put a knife in the base of your skull. If something has happened to Jes because of your people, I'll let Jewel tie you up and let her have target practice with her knives, then I'll put a knife in the base of your skull," Rick told him.

Jewel looked at Rick. "You'd blindfold me at least right? I mean that's the fun of knife throwing, being able to go on instinct. Lucky for him, I'm pretty good," she teased as she put her hand on Rick's shoulder. "But we're not going to have to do that. They are going to come back with Jes, they are going to find out that he's telling the truth. I don't get the same feeling with him that I did with the Governor, or with Gareth. He's not hiding anything. I wouldn't risk the children, the group, and most definitely not you on chasing some pipe dream. They'll come back and then we go from there," she told him as she rubbed the side of his face. "Maybe I should take a turn watching him. He's tied up, and I won't be out of your view at all. I've got this, you take Hope," she instructed as she handed Rick the baby. "Go on, he'd be dead before he tried anything," Jewel assured her husband. "Go on," she told him. She sighed as Rick went to join Mika and Judith. "So, what happens if the person who makes the decisions don't think we belong? What if this person decides one of us doesn't fit?" Jewel asked as she leaned against the wall.

"I'm sure that it won't be a problem," Aaron told her.

"That's not what I asked," Jewel asked as she bent down and took out her knife starting to sharpen the blade. "Holding and nursing a baby all day, doesn't give me a lot of time to proper maintain my knives. I'm more comfortable with knives, it takes less time to aim then a gun, more personal. Now, Aaron, I do believe that you are a good man. And I do believe that you want to help us. But, I'm tired, not only from walking all this way, but I'm also nursing a baby. That's just takes a lot out of a person. Feeding another life, keeping her alive, when you barley have enough to drink or eat? I wouldn't change it for the world if it meant that I didn't have Hope. But, it also makes me a little short tempered when someone tries to avoid my question. So, Aaron, please answer me."

"We'd exile them, I mean we can't endanger the other people," Aaron told her.

Jewel saw Rick take a step and shot him the Dixon glare. "We are all one unit. What we did in the past doesn't matter now. There's no judge or jury, all there is now are people surviving. Everyone in this group, well mostly with two exceptions, is family and have proven themselves, they have made up for the sins of the past. Hell, I've made up for the sins of the past. So, if we do go, you better tell whoever is in charge, judging us for past mistakes are going to earn them my anger. Trust me, no one wants that," she said as she stood up and patted Aaron on the shoulder. "I'm glad we had this little talk," she said as she gave Rick a smirk.

TBC