Better Days

Chapter 269

Author's Note: One word for last nights season premier. Epic!. So, not all interviews will be in these chapters, like Carol or Glenn's because they'd basically be the same. Review please

Group POV:

Lexi came out of the shower brushing her hair, wearing clean clothes. "I feel about ten pounds lighter," she announced as she came over and sat next to Carl. She took Judith. "I smell better too huh?" she asked as she tickled Judith's belly. "You as shell shocked as I am?"

Carl nodded. "Yeah, kind of surreal," he answered.

"You saw her too, right? The girl in the window outside the gate?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah, didn't know anyone else saw her," Carl told her.

"Haven't you figured it out yet Carl Grimes, that I keep my eye on you. Otherwise, you'd be so dead by now," Lexi told him.

Carl shook his head. "Oh you'd like to think that," he told her.

Lexi looked at him. "I know it," she said as the stared at each other.

"Alright you two, am I going to have to sit between you?" Carol asked coming from outside the house.

Lexi stood up balancing Judith on her hip. "We were just talking, Carol," she told her. "What are you wearing?" she asked as she looked at the outfit Carol was wearing.

"We have to put up appearances," Carol answered.

Mar looked at her. "Are you channeling Betty Crocker Carol?"

"I think we ruined first good impressions when Jes dropped a dummy over the wall," Mar said.

"Or when I basically slammed a door in a woman's face by offering to give Rick a haircut," Jewel told her as she walked down the stairs with Rick.

"Don't forget she woke up Hope," Rick said. "If I say so myself, you don't give bad haircuts," he said as he kissed Jewel.

"Now you look like the man I met two years ago," Carol told Rick. "Jewel, we need to keep up appearances. Did Deanna give you a job yet?"

"No," Rick told her.

"I get to be a housewife," Jewel told them.

"Oh please don't tell me they expect you to cook, because if that happens, you'll start a fire that'll burn down this whole community," Mar teased.

Jewel rolled her eyes as she threw a pillow at her. "Not funny, but true. Alright, where are Mitch, Mika and Summer?"

"Mitch is outside skinning dinner with Daryl," Mar told her.

"Summer went to get her interview out of the way with Deanna. Michonne went with her, and I think Sasha is there too. Mika went with Maggie and Tara to the pantry," Lexi rattled off.

"You are learning well grasshopper," Jewel told her as she smiled at Judith. "Did you get your bath? I'm going to give your baby sister a bath tonight in the sink. The pantry? Isn't that where Random Hair cut lady said she worked?" Jewel asked Rick.

"Yea," Rick answered trying to keep the smirk off her face.

"Random Hair Cut Lady? Really Jewel. How are we going to make these people trust us if we keep throwing dummies over walls, and slamming doors in people's faces?" Carol asked. "You should go apologize."

Jewel looked at her. "Hello, I'm Jewel Dixon Grimes, have we met? I'm pretty sure we haven't because if you knew anything about me is what you see is what you get. If this was before, assuming that I would have gotten married, a woman comes to the door like that, staring at another woman's shirtless husband, those are getting punched in the face, broken nose offense," she said as she adjusted Hope. "And offering a man a hair cut, that could be taken in a whole different context, that is when you call your best girlfriends and that woman disappears," she said. "You play Happy Homemaker, I'll just be the intimidating one," she told her.

Rick tried to hold back his laugh. "She's right Carol, we've been out there to long for all of us to be on perfect behavior."

Mar looked at her. "I'm really seriously glad you never dated before this, because I was your only friend," she said as she followed the kids outside.

Carol shook her head. "Daryl, you need to get in the shower, at least one of the Dixon siblings can put on appearances," she told him.

Mar sat down beside Mitch and Daryl. "Seriously, you're barking up the wrong tree, Carol."

"Didn't put up appearances before this, aint starting now. Heard your conversation, you missed an important part," Daryl told Jewel.

"This is going to be good," Lexi told Carl.

"Your brothers' would make that woman disappearing for hitting on there brother in law," Daryl said.

Jewel looked at Rick and shrugged. "We're rednecks, we handle things differently," she said.

Rick laughed as he took Judith. "You two can go look, but make it quick," he told Carl and Lexi.

"You still need to go talk to her," Carol told her. "We are going to live in the same town."

"You know she's not giving this up until you say you'll do it," Mar told her.

Jewel sighed. "I'll go to the pantry later, see if they have diapers, but I'm not apologizing," she warned. "But first we should check the other houses."

"Can we dad?" Carl asked.

"Don't be to long," Rick told them.

Mitch stood up to go with them.

"Oh no, you are going in the shower," Mar told him. "I'll handle Daryl later, go on," Mar said as she pointed to the door. "When ever you are ready to go over to the pantry, I'll go with you," she said to Jewel with a small smirk.

Jewel shook her head as her and Daryl went to one of the houses to check it out.

Summer's POV:

Summer took a breath as she stood in front of Deanna's house alone. Michonne had went inside while Summer took a breath.

"You know, the house isn't going to disappear because you're staring at it," a young man's voice said from behind her.

Summer turned quickly around and her hand immediately went to where her gun would be.

"Hey, I didn't mean to scare you," the man said. "Let me try this again. I'm Spencer, Deanna's son. Welcome to Alexandria," he said as he extended his hand out to her.

Summer looked at it before taking it. "Summer Dixon."

"So, are you waiting to go in or just finished talking to my mom?" Spencer asked.

"I thought I wanted to get the interview over, not wait for tomorrow," Summer answered.

"Now you're thinking that was a bad idea?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah," Summer answered.

"Well, I know that you've been through a lot, and this must seem like a weird dream, and it's going to take a while to feel normal again," Spencer told her.

Summer gave a snort. "Normal? Is that what you call this? No, this isn't normal. This is the abnormality. The real world, the way it is now, is beyond those gates."

"But it doesn't have to be, Summer. This can be a new start for you and everyone that came in with you," Spencer said as he reached out to touch her arm.

Summer stepped back. "What if I told you that I don't want this to be my normal? That I don't want to forget about what it's like to be out there? Because when you get comfortable, you get complacent and people die. I'm happy for us to be here, for Judith, for Hope, for Mika, for Mitch, for Carl, Lexi, my mom, everyone so hopefully no one else has to die."

"There's a but coming," Spencer told her.

"But right now, I'd say you're all lucky that we're here, because we know how to survive. We know what it takes," Summer told him.

Axel came up on the porch. "Summer, you alright? You really shouldn't be out here alone."

Spencer looked at him. "She's not out here alone, she's with me," he told him. "I'm Spencer."

Axel looked at him. "Axel," he said. "I meant that we don't know you, and we don't do things alone."

"Michonne's inside, I just didn't want to go inside just yet. Spencer is Deanna's son," Summer told him.

"I didn't realize," Axel told him.

"It's alright. I can understand why you all are protective of each other. Did my mom give you a job yet?" Spencer asked Axel.

"Mechanic with a man named Gus. Wasn't planning on meeting him til tomorrow," Axel told him.

"Gus is a good man. I've known him a long time, before this. He was best friends with my brother in law," Spencer told them.

"Your brother in law is gone? Your sister?" Summer questioned.

"My sister is still alive, here in Alexandria with my niece. We lost my brother in law before, in Afghanistan. We were in Washington for his funeral, mom had some business to attend to. We thought Quinn and Bri had went back to Ohio, we didn't know they had stayed in Washington at the VA, with Gus. He had been injured in the same convoy as Cam, got injured. In a way it was a blessing, he got Bri and Quinn out of Washington. We thought we'd never see them again," Spencer told them.

"Things work out in mysterious ways in this world, you realize to appreciate the small miracles in your lives," Axel told him. "Best thing ever happened to me when I met this group."

"How'd you all meet?" Spencer asked.

Summer looked at Axel then at Spencer. "We broke into a prison. Axel and some other guys already had that idea," she said. "I'm going to go inside, get this over with. It was nice meeting you Spencer," she said as she turned to go in the house.

"It was nice to meet both of you," Spencer said as he watched both of them go into his mother's house.

TBC