Better Days

Chapter 265

Author's Note: We're finally here! Alexandria! Now, I've always said that 5b is going to be my biggest changes yet (Rick still is going to go crazy, Pete grabs Jewel. No one grabs Jewel.) But Random Hair Cut Lady is not going to be a threat. Jewel's a Dixon, there's some smart ass responses waiting for her. So, when I went to work, I had this chapter almost done. Yeah Jes told me otherwise. She seriously nagged me, hence the reason I am on the computer after a payroll day! Now, review please!

Group POV:

Jewel looked at Rick as they drove toward Alexandria and squeezed his hand. "Jes wanted to scout out the area huh?" she asked as she looked at Rick. Both of them knowing that 'she just wanted to get out of the car' line he told Aaron and Phoebe was a lie.

Rick glanced in the rearview mirror at the kids then looked at her. "She wanted to check it out, see if there were any weaknesses in the walls, any way to get over them."

Jewel nodded. "Smart play. Catch them off guard. She knows not to shoot unless it's a trap right?"

Rick nodded. "She's just trying to make a point that if someone wants in, they'll get in," he said as they pulled up to the gate. He took a breath as he listened to the sounds inside of the gate, including children laughing.

Summer looked outside the back window. "Dad, everyone is getting out of the cars. Are we going to do this?"

Rick looked at Jewel then back at Summer. "Yeah, yeah we're going to do this," he said as the group started to get out of the car. He smiled as he watched Judith roll over on the floor of the car in the backseat. "Come on," he told her.

Jewel took a breath as she kissed the top of Hope's head and squeezed Mika's arm. "We'll be alright. Rick? You ready?"

"Yeah," he said as he stood in the back.

Carol came up to them. "Even though you were wrong, you were right," she told him as she passed.

Everyone stood in a dazed like state looking around and turned there attention to a noise in a trashcan. Daryl took a shot with his arrow as the gate opened and he picked up the possum. "We brought dinner."

Jewel and Mar looked at each other trying not to laugh at the mans face on the other side of the gate. Mitch was the first one to recover. "Coming empty handed would just be rude."

Phoebe looked at Nicholas. "They're alright Nicholas. Just been on the road for a very long time," she told him.

"It's alright," Aaron told Nicholas. "Come on guys," he said as he led them through the gate.

"Has a woman showed up, dark skinned, Hispanic? She's part of the group, wanted to take a walk. She really doesn't like to be confined in cars," Phoebe said.

"No body's shown up but you all," Nicholas said. "Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons. Stay, you hand them over," he told them.

"Nicholas," Phoebe told him.

"We don't know if we want to stay," Rick said as he caught a glimpse of Jes out of his eye. "Plus, if we wanted to use them, we would have started already," he said as he nodded toward the top of the gate.

Jes dropped a dummy over the gate, before dropping herself over. "I've got to say that you must be some of the luckiest, stupidest idiots around. This is your sniper?" she questioned as she kicked the dummy. "Yeah, he didn't put up a lot of fight when I took his rifle, which by the way belongs to us now," she told them. "So much for walls no one can get in and out of," she said as she looked at Phoebe and Aaron.

"What the hell? You're bringing these people inside our gates?" Nicholas asked the recruiters.

"It looks like these people just pointed out serious flaws in your weak security system. If we wanted you dead, you'd all be dead, and a dummy sure the hell wouldn't protect you," Rick told him.

"It worked fine, been working fine," Nicholas pointed out.

"You got lucky, simple as that," Joey said. "Bad people exist out there, and you're lucky they haven't found this place yet."

"So why don't you tell me how we fix these so called gaps?" Nicholas asked.

Jes looked at him. "You aren't in charge. You would like to think you're in charge but you aren't. So therefore, I think I'll wait."

"Calm down, alright?" Phoebe told them. "Both of you," she warned Nicholas as much as Jes.

"She's right, let them talk to Deanna first," Aaron told him.

"Whose Deanna?" Abraham bellowed.

Summer, who was standing right in front of Abraham, turned and looked at him. "Abraham, can you just pick me up and move me to the side before you bellow in my ear please?"

Abraham nodded slightly as Aaron answered. "She knows everything you'd want to know about this place. Rick, why don't you start?" Aaron asked.

"While you're talking to Deanna, I can take Jewel to the infirmary with Eric. Ronnie's welcome to come along," Phoebe told them.

"We don't separate," Jewel answered before Rick had a chance. "We stay together, or in groups. That's the deal," she answered.

Rick nodded as he looked back through the gate and saw a Walker. "Sasha," he told her. Sasha raised her gun without hesitation and took the walkers head off. "It's a good thing we're here," he told them as he led the group off.

Phoebe glanced at Aaron. "I'll take them, you get Eric to the infirmary," she said as she looked at the group. "Follow me please."

"Aunt Phoebe you're back!" a voice called out as he ran to her.

"You bet I am you little monkey!" Phoebe said as she kissed him and hugged him.

"You found people," Liam said as he looked at Judith and then the baby. "That's a baby," he said as he tried to move forward.

"Hey, hold on alright?" Phoebe told him. "Remember how we felt when we walked in those gates?"

"Scared," Liam answered.

"Very scared. We need to give them time to adjust just like we needed time. So, why don't you go round up some clean clothes for Mitch, then go over to Quinn's and tell the girls that we need baby clothes. All teenage girls love looking at clothing no matter what. Can you do that for me?" Phoebe asked.

Liam nodded as he glanced at the baby again before turning to leave.

Jewel gave a small smile. "It's alright, you can come meet her," she told the boy.

Liam looked at Phoebe for approval. "Alright, but do exactly what Jewel tells you," Phoebe told him.

Rick adjusted Judith on his hip as he watched the boy approach. "Liam right?" Rick asked. "You're aunt mentioned you….she missed you."

"I'm real glad she found you….I had a baby brother…but…he didn't make it," Liam told them as he gently reached for the babies cheek. "What's her name?"

"Hope," Jewel told him. "That's Judith," she introduced. "I'm sorry about your brother. I just lost my oldest brother a few weeks ago," she told him.

Phoebe smiled softly. "You can visit tomorrow or a couple days from now, once they get settled and if they say it's alright. Go on and do what I asked, I need to make sure they get to Deanna's. Off you go you monkey!" she told him as he went to do what he was told. "Thank you for that. He doesn't talk much about his baby brother. I don't blame him, it's hard."

"Why did you leave him behind? To recruit? It's dangerous," David told her.

"You're right it is. This was the first time I went out, he wanted me too. To try and save people, like Aaron and Eric saved us. I think it's because it's been almost a year since we've been here, and he wanted to try and save other people. He knows what it's like, we both do," she said as she looked at them. "Like I said before, you have allies. You just have to believe it," she said as she stopped at a house. "Here we are, I'll go tell Deanna you're all here. I'll get you all some ice water and snacks," Phoebe told them as she walked inside.

"I feel like I've been sucked down a rabbit hole," Summer told them as they looked around.

Author's Note: Short but they are in Alexandria. Rick and Jewel's interviews are going to take one chapter (LONG) I'm sure, so didn't want to start that here! Review please.