Better Days

Chapter 285

Author's Note: Still not talking about that season finale. Jewel and Jes are disgusted. But, I do have an interesting plot line for Summer coming up when they are leading the walkers' away. No she's not going to go under a dumpster, we'll know where she is, but it'll take her a while to get back to our group. But she will be rescued by someone we've met in the show but it'll before he was introduced . (I'll give someone a cookie if they guess who. It's not that hard.) She's not going to be reunited with team family for a couple months, but it's going to give Summer time to grow and find out how strong she really is. And, when she is reunited with Rick and the others, she will already have had a run in with Negan and totally disagrees with the plan to go after him. And, she may or may not find that Joey is just a crush. This is all Summer! Don't hate me. I haven't even wrote it yet, but Summer's been talkative since someone was introduced. Review please.

Jes, Daryl, Rick and Carol's POV:

Jes had waited until Sasha had relieved her at the watchtower before jumping down and heading to meet with the others. She had seen them, minus Jewel, head out earlier. She started to run to meet them. She wasn't even out of breath when she got to them. "We seem to be missing one of us," she told them.

"Jewel was nursing Hope, she wants to try and do this the other way, ways that don't involve us shooting up the place," Rick told her.

Daryl came back from the side of the building. "I don't see it, but it's close," he told them as they heard a walker. "There's just one of them."

"We're not going to be out here long," Rick answered.

"Is Jewel going to be a problem?" Carol asked.

Jes put her hand on Rick's arm to get him from saying anything. "Jewel wants to work this from the other side, then she can. That's the smart play," she told the other woman.

"She's with us if we can't do this the non violent way," Rick assured her.

"She's not going to want to hurt anyone like the Governor did with us, but push comes to shove, she's a Dixon whose gonna do anything to keep her family safe," Daryl told her.

"So what do you think?" Rick asked Carol.

"We can go in when it's empty," Carol responded.

"How's that? They lock it up at night," Rick asked.

"I took a walk last night, no one guards it," Jes said.

"The window. There's just a latch, I can leave it open," Carol told them.

"A latch?" Rick asked not believing they didn't have more security.

"Yeah," Carol answered.

"What happens if one of those prick's close it?" Daryl asked.

"Wait a couple of days, leave it open again," Carol answered.

"We'd need small guns, that we can carry with us, no one needs to see them," Jes told her.

Daryl walked away and looked for the Walker. "It's getting closer."

"We need to do it sooner than later. Right now, they're not watching us. Not worrying about meetings like this. We may need the guns, we may not," Rick said.

"We will, whatever way this goes," Carol told them.

"It would be easier if we could get someone assigned to the pantry, which is adjacent with the weapons," Jes told them. "I would suggest Summer, but considering she just punched out one of them, that may not be the best choice," she said with a shrug. "Carol is our best choice, no one is going to ever suspect Betty Crocker," she told them.

Rick nodded. " They're the luckiest damn people I ever met. And they just keep getting luckier," he said.

"How's that?" Daryl asked.

Jes and Rick answered simultaneously, "Because we're here," they told them.

"They've got a couple of footlockers just full of 9 millimeter autos, Rugers, Kel-Tecs. Just tossed in there. They don't use them. They're never gonna know they're gone," Carol said.

"Someone's got one now, right?" Daryl said as he nodded to the old blender that he hid the gun on.

"I'll keep an eye on them, someone is going to slip up. Someone will make a small mistake, a small slip up, when they do, I'll know who it is," Jes told them.

Rick nodded. "Listen, the others, we want them to try," he told them.

"Both of you also," Carol said as she looked at Daryl and Jes.

"So we keep it quiet, just between us and Jewel," Rick told them. Rick looked over at the walker. "Here it comes," he told them.

"I got him," Daryl said as he raised his crossbow.

"Hey wait," Carol said as she raised her gun and shot five rounds in his stomach, then raised it to his head and took the kill shot. "We said we were taking me out shooting. I couldn't go back with a full mag," she told them.

"Lucky he came by," Daryl told her.

Rick and Jes looked at each other. "You know, you're scary," Jes told Carol.

"We should get back," Rick told them.

"You'll pull the latch, we'll pick our moment. Us, we don't need to be lucky," Rick told them as they walked passed a walker.

Daryl brushed some grass away. "What the hell is that? Is that a W?" he asked at the W on the walkers' head.

"Yeah," Carol answered.

Rick and Jes both bent down. "At Shirewalt Estates, Noah's home, those heads we found cut off from the other body parts, there were W's on them. The walls had Wolve's not far painted on them. If this one is here, not far from Alexandria, that means, so are these Wolve's," Jes told them as she looked at Rick.

Rick gave a nod as he stood up. "We'll keep our guard up," he told them as they walked back to Alexandria.

Michonne, Rick and Jewel's POV:

Jewel stopped at Michonne's door holding Hope. "You know this is a whole new look for you, not a bad one, just a new one," she told Michonne.

"Yeah, I feel odd," Michonne answered as she went over and touched Hope's face. "Good morning beautiful," she said as she put a kiss on her head. "How did you sleep?" she asked Jewel.

"Sleep? What's that?" Jewel answered.

"Is it because of Judith and Hope or is it all this?" Michonne asked.

"I've slept with one eye open for so long, that I don't really think that anything else is normal. My mind wouldn't shut off, probably won't for a while," Jewel responded. "You?"

Michonne nodded. "The same. It'll be alright, you know?" she asked.

Jewel looked at her. "I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for this to be just like the other places. This seems to easy."

Michonne put her hand on Jewel's shoulder. "Maybe having Aaron and Phoebe finding us, maybe that was the best thing to ever happen to us," she told the other woman.

Rick came down the hall and kissed Jewel. "You seen Summer? I went to her room to check on her but she wasn't there."

Jewel glanced at Michonne. "Did he just ask me if I knew where Summer was?"

Michonne tried not to laugh. "I do believe he did."

"You do realize there was a flaw in that question right?" Jewel asked as she shook her head. "Her shoulder was bothering her, she was up early, Mar checked it, there was a little bit of infection. Ronnie cleaned it up, and Mar, Beth and her went to get some things at the pantry. Then she has strict orders to go up to bed and stay put today. Now would you like me to tell you where the rest of the group is? Because I can, you know," she responded with a smirk.

Rick threw up his hands in defeat as he kissed her. "Alright, point taken," he said as kissed the top of Hope's head. He looked at Michonne in uniform. "I don't know if this is some kind of play, handing authority to strangers," Rick told her.

"The authority to break up fistfights," Michonne answered.

"If it was just that, she should have given one of these to Daryl," Rick told her.

Jewel gave a laugh. "Somewhere up there Merle is having a fit with that idea," she told him.

Michonne nodded in agreement. "I don't know if it's for us or for them. Or maybe Deanna's trying to get rid of us and them. You put these jackets on me and you, have the people see it. If that's the play, that'd be smart, and she seems smart," she told them.

Jewel nodded. "She's trying to make a point, that there is no them and us. Obviously she didn't think there was anyone here that could wear those uniforms and pull it off. She's playing it smart," she told them.

"Smart for then or smart for now?" Rick asked.

"This is now," Michonne answered.

Jewel nodded. "Well I need to get dressed and out of a robe, if I'm going to make it to this meeting with you guys. Can you take Hope? She's having a yeah I'm not laying down in the basinet morning," she asked Rick.

"Come on. Let's go see Judith, Mika and Carl downstairs," Rick said as he took Hope. "Fifteen minutes?" he asked.

"I'll be ready," Jewel responded.

"I'm ready," Michonne answered.

Daryl and Mitch's POV:

Mar looked at Daryl as he came through the gates with the others. "Hey, you going out hunting today?" she asked Daryl.

"Planned on it, need something?" Daryl asked as the others left.

"Can you take Mitch? He's going as stir crazy as you are. And, he's not buying the whole school thing yet. I don't want to push him into going just yet, it wouldn't be fair to him. He's a strong kid, but this is a change for him," Mar told him.

Daryl nodded. "No problem. He apologize to Beth yet about his attitude yesterday?"

"Yes," Mar responded.

"He mean it? Or he just sayin' the words?" Daryl asked.

Mar gave a small smile. "You know, I never thought that Daryl Dixon would take to fatherhood as well as you have."

Daryl shrugged. "Aint no different then it was with Summer," he told her.

"I know you helped Jewel out a lot, and that's admirable. But you took Mitch as your own before I even came back. You are his father," Mar told him as she kissed him. "I know, I know, public display of affections," she teased. "You know if I wasn't around you'd be getting hit on, a lot."

"Stop," Daryl told her. "So, he meant it or was he just sayin' the words?" he asked again.

Mar nodded. "He meant it," she told him.

"I aint raising no disrespectful son," Daryl answered.

Mar gave a small smile. "I don't expect any less."

"Carol and you figure out this whole housing thing yet?" Daryl asked.

"Working on it. I think you'd be more comfortable in the same house with Jewel and Rick, there's a basement down stairs that would need some work. Summer claimed the attic, which means some furniture moving. It's big enough that it can be separated for her and Mika, Summer said she didn't mind. Then we're giving Noah, Carl and Mitch the 2nd biggest bedroom after the master. Carol is staying in one room, and Michonne has the other small one. Figured we could take the basement," Mar responded as she walked into the house.

"Mitch, come down here," Daryl called up. "I'll go check the basement in a bit. That small room could be made up for Mitch, so Noah and Carl can have more room," he told them.

"Daryl! Judith and Hope are both sleeping," she told him.

Mitch came down the stairs. "What's up?"

"We're goin' hunting, get out of these walls for a bit, just you and me. You got five minutes to get ready, otherwise I'm leavin' with out you? Clear?" Daryl asked.

"Yes dad," Mitch said as he ran up the stairs.

Daryl smirked. "I know how he feels about wanting to get out of this place," he said as he kissed her.

TBC