Happy New Years everyone! Sorry to my reviewer, elljayde, who requested for this to be a Daryl/OC story but this was a request for a Merle/OC from one of my followers. If you have an idea of your own, feel free to message me! Anyways, I hope that 2019 is kind to everyone!
Anna sat at the back of the RV beside Merle as she stared out of the window. After they had returned to the barn, Rick had ordered them to remove everything they'd found within the vehicles and stack it around the small table that had been in the barn. Anna had thought it a fruitless endeavour since they'd only put it back, but she did it anyways. After a stern speech, Michonne had managed to convince Rick that they were going to let Aaron lead them to the community he spoke of.
Rick had decided they would go at night, too paranoid to let their potential allies see them first. Anna partially understood how he was thinking and even partially agreed with it but she also worried that it might be too dangerous as well. They were travelling at night in an area they had next to no information on.
"Still wanna stick with these idiots?" Merle muttered as he looked over at her.
Anna sighed. "Yes and no, slowly moving more towards no. I get why yer not a fan of Rick."
Merle snorted. "Yet both of our brothers seem to be his number one fans."
Suddenly they veered to the side, making Anna practically fall face first into Merle's lap as their vehicle thumped into something that sounded like human bodies. Merle snickered as he shoved her face away from his balls and got to his feet.
"Ain't no time for a blow job." Merle snickered as he made for the front. Anna got up to followed but then smashed her face into Merle's broad back as Abraham threw the RV into reverse. Merle chuckled as he looked back over his shoulder at her. "Shit girl! Have you got no balance?"
"Shut up, Merle!" Anna growled as they both held on for dear life as Abraham suddenly turned, stopped then floored it again.
"What the hell is goin' on!" Merle hollered as they continued on their journey towards the front.
"Ran into a massive herd of walkers." Daryl said as he stared through the windshield. "Rick and Glenn's vehicle got through."
"Oh goodie." Merle said sarcastically.
"We're gonna try and connect with them a mile down the road." Abraham said as he slowed down and took a right.
Just as Abraham accelerated once more, a flare was shot up and lit up the sky just down the highway in front of them.
"Bitch nuts! Hold on!" Abraham exclaimed then floored it once more.
They sped down the road as fast as the RV would go for a short distance then Anna practically spread out on the console as Abraham slammed on the brakes. Abraham chuckled as he helped her up while everyone else piled out of the RV.
"Sorry, sis." Abraham said as they also exited, the RV together.
The rest of the group had surrounded a man who must've sent up the flare and were fighting off the walkers as Maggie and Sasha carried the man between them. Abraham and Anna stood by the door and fired at the walkers nearest their group as they made their progress back towards the RV. When they finally reached the door, they filed into the RV once more with Abraham and Anna filing in last.
"There's a town nearby." The man said through gritted teeth as Carol and Maggie rolled the mans pant leg up. "We can wait for Aaron and your friends there."
"What happened?" Maggie asked as she inspected his leg.
"I was walking back to our community, when they snuck up on me. I tried to climb the water tower, but I slipped and fell…I think I broke my ankle." He said then hissed. "I'm Eric by the way. Thank you for saving me."
"Your ankle is definitely broken." Maggie said then looked over at Carol. "Can you help me set this?"
Ten minutes later, Abraham rolled to as stop once more, in an alley in the town that Eric had given them instructions too. Everyone gathered their things and prepared to depart before they started for the door.
"Daryl, Merle you help Eric here, Annie you take point and I'll take the rear." Abraham ordered.
"Who died and made you king?" Merle growled.
"Just shut it and do what Abe says." Anna growled with equal venom as she readied her gun.
Daryl looked at his brothers back in surprise as he turned and roughly grabbed Eric's arm.
"Gently!" Maggie protested as Daryl grabbed Eric's other arm and together the brothers hoisted the man too his feet.
Anna looked back to make sure everyone was ready then unclipped the leash from Juno's collar and opened the door, looking around carefully. When she saw nothing dangerous, she stepped out with Juno at her side, then made a bee line for a door with a sign over it that said Supply Room. They made it to the door without any problems, then they made a wedge formation in front of the door. Anna held up her hand, counted down from three, then swung the door open. There were three walkers crowding immediately by the door but were easily dispatched before Anna stepped through the door. She shined her flashlight around the room, but no more walkers appeared.
Once they had finished clearing the room, Daryl and Merle set Eric on the ground and then Daryl and Noah went back outside to gather the candles they'd seen in the RV as Carol checked Eric's leg. Once they had gotten Eric comfortable, everyone settled into waiting as Daryl stayed outside and was joined by Merle, keeping an eye out on the street hoping to see Rick and the others if they came their way.
"Why does your dog wear a vest?" Eric asked as she walked over to him. "He kind of scares me."
"She actually." Anna corrected as she sat down beside him. Juno stood by his feet staring at him intently, not being aggressive but ready to spring into action if Anna ordered her. "It's a Kevlar vest, she's a Navy SEAL, like me."
"Is she dangerous?" Eric asked as he eyed her fearfully.
"She can be. She'll only attack if ordered or provoked. So long as you don't attack me or pull a gun, your throat should stay intact." Anna said smirking.
Anna heard a bang on the door in the other room and stood up to look through the door way to see a bunch of their group rush outside. After a few minutes Aaron burst inside calling Eric's name, when he saw Anna standing in the door way her rushed her way and she stepped out of his way as she looked back at Juno.
"Easy, Juno." Anna said as she started to growl as Aaron rushed to Eric's side. "Come." She said as she walked to through the door.
They walked back to where everyone now stood inside. She wandered over to where Abraham stood next Rosita then knelt down and dug out her little collapsible bowl from one of the pockets that was in Juno's vest and poured water into it so that Juno could drink.
"You seem pretty attached to that dog." Rosita said, observing them.
Anna smirked slightly. "I am and she isn't just a dog, she's…"
"Your partner." Rosita finished rolling her eyes.
"If you didn't want to hear the answer, don't ask the damn question." Anna growled.
"Annie be nice. Rosita, she has a point. And what's wrong with her being attached to her dog?" Abraham asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Nothing." Rosita said looking up at Abraham a little ruefully. "I'm just tired and not a fan of dogs."
The room suddenly went quiet as Aaron came back out, eventually followed by Rick, looking like he had something to say. "Thank you." Aaron started. "You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria." Everyone looked around at each other, happy to finally have a name to where they were going. "Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving for tonight. Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."
"That sounds fine." Rick responded, shocking everyone. "But if we're staying here for the night, you're staying over there." Rick continued pointing to a corner of the room that was furthest from Eric.
Maggie stepped forward. "Do you really think we got to do that?"
"It's the safe play, we don't know you." Rick said to Aaron.
"The only way you're going to stop me from being with him right now, is by shooting me." Aaron said passionately.
There was a long drawn out silence, only interrupted by Merle's sound of disgust as he turned away and walked out of the door. Finally, Aaron moved to push passed Rick as Rick reached for his gun, but Glenn immediately stepped in between the two as Juno let out a low growl, responding to the tension in the room, looking up at Anna.
"Rick, he told us where his camp is." Glenn said, trying to talk Rick down. "And he really was only travelling with one person. They're both unarmed. One of thems got a broken ankle. I want us to be safe, too. I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it doesn't matter."
Rick stared at Glenn then nodded his head. "Alright."
Anna turned then and headed outside, also sick of these people for the moment. She was surprised to find Merle leaning against the wall immediately outside the door, smoking another cigarette. He'd tensed when he'd heard the door open but relaxed slightly when saw Anna exiting the building.
"Thought you'd left for good." Anna said as she strode over and leaned against the wall beside him.
Merle snickered. "Thought 'bout it but you and my brother were still in there."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "You'd stay for me?"
Merle turned from leaning on his back to leaning on his shoulder. "Sure. Yer the only friend I got and Daryl's the only family I got."
"I thought you said he was better off without you." Anna asked, also turning to face Merle.
"And I largely still believe that, but that Rick has fallen off his rocker, he's nuts. I don't want Daryl to get into a situation like I had." Merle said staring at her intently.
"And what if I wanted to leave but Daryl didn't?" Anna asked smirking slightly.
Merle gave her a sideways smirk. "Depends." Merle said, reaching up and pushing some of her loose strands out of her face, his cigarette still in between his fingers. "But I think I'd probably go with you."
"And why would you do that?" Anna asked trying to not blush as Merle slowly ran his fingers over her cheek.
"So, I can continue to do this." Merle said, then leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips.
"I thought you thought I was a pain in the ass." Anna breathed when Merle pulled back a little.
"You may talk too much and be a city slicker, but you learn fast, got an interesting personality and got one fine ass." Merle said as he ran his hand down her side to her ass then grabbed it.
"Well ain't you smooth." Anna said as she chuckled and stepped back. "You had plenty of a chance to hit on me when we were on our own, but you chose now? Don't you think that's a little odd."
Merle chuckled as he put his back to the wall once more, throwing the butt of his cigarette down in front of him. "I just went with the flow. We were too busy survivin' before and I dunno…it just didn't happen then."
Anna laughed. "Well yer lucky that I tend to like the bad boys, even one-armed bad boys."
Merle grinned. "Lucky me."
111
The following morning, they all piled into the two vehicles. Michonne crammed into the back of the sedan with Maggie and Glenn while Rick drove, and Daryl sat shotgun. Anna and Merle sat cheek to cheek on one of the benches near the front as Eric and Aaron sitting in the back. While the trip was largely quiet, with most of the conversation happening between Tara and Eugene as they played cards, and Abraham kept a near constant eye on Anna, staring at her with the assistance of his extra wide rear-view mirror.
"Abraham." Rosita said, getting his attention and pointing out of the windshield as they rounded the bend, revealing Washington DC's cityscape. Abraham looked over at Rosita and smiled, which she returned. "Eyes on the road, champ."
Abraham looked forward once more, glancing at Anna once more before paying attention to the road. Eugene suddenly bent towards Anna, his card game done.
"Abraham never mentioned having a sibling let alone a massively hot sister." Eugene said earning a glare from both Abraham and Merle.
"Why would he mention me? Did you tell him or your other friends about your family? It's best not to think about the family you don't know what happened to." Anna said shrugging. "It's less painful that way."
"Were you two not close?" Eugene asked.
Anna's face scrunched. "What makes you think that? We were very close!"
"To be able to forget one another so easily, suggests a lack of affection." Eugene said shrugging.
"More like a strong survival instinct." Anna growled. "And trust me it ain't easy. Both Abe and I have served in wars, our father also served, I guess disconnecting was something we learned at a young age. Thinking about all the people you've lost, only serves to drain you, so its better to only focus on who's with you."
"Ignore Eugene." Rosita said, twisting in her seat. "He's really smart but…lacks in a few areas."
Merle scoffed. "And people think I'm an ass hole." Merle muttered.
They all fell into a silence once more as they continued down the road. Tara, Noah and Eugene had just started another card game while Anna decided to work out the burrs and knots out of Juno's fur when Abraham cursed and the engine stalled. Everyone looked up as the RV glided to a halt and Abraham smashed his fist on the steering wheel before standing up.
"What's happening?" Carol asked as she moved her legs out of the way as Abraham squeezed by.
"Something to do with the battery." Abraham growled as he exited the RV.
All but Aaron and Eric exited the vehicle and spread out around the vehicle as Rick and the others came over to the RV. Abraham kicked the RV's wheel's angrily. "Motherdick!" He exclaimed angrily.
"Calm down, Abraham. I'll take a look." Glenn said as he walked to the front of the RV.
Anna leaned up against the bumper of the RV with Rosita, Sasha and Tara as Merle and Daryl paced on top of the RV, looking for trouble. Everyone else scattered around the RV, waiting while Abraham and Glenn worked.
"You and Abraham have many physical similarities with the red hair, blue eye but personality wise, you two seem very different." Tara observed as she watched her. "You seem a lot calmer and I haven't heard a single weird swear or saying."
Anna laughed. "You think I'm calm? Well I suppose you haven't known me all that long and Abe has one hell of a temper, so that might make me seem calmer. I don't think Merle thinks I'm calm. As for the weird things he says, well he's always had a…unique way of thinking. Part of what made him such a good tactician."
"Is your dog really what you say she is?" Rosita asked.
"A war dog? Yeah, she is." Anna said as she looked over to where Juno was sniffing the grass. "She's nine, though, and I think they were thinking of retiring her. Which is probably why she stayed with me for as long as she did."
Suddenly the RV's engine roared to life and several people cheered. As Merle and Daryl climbed down the ladder, Anna watched suspiciously as Rick walked off into the trees. When he came back, everyone climbed into their vehicles, Daryl, Glenn and Maggie joining them in the RV while Carl and Judith went into the car with Michonne and Rick.
The environment in the RV was almost jubilant as they drove, the sight of Washington making things even more real for them, but they were all reluctant to fully let themselves be pulled into the emotion. They drove for another hour, with Rick in the lead this time, before the road ended in a big steel gate, attached to equally big steel walls; just like the pictures that Aaron had shown them.
Everyone in the RV watched Rick's shadow in the car as he assessed their surroundings but finally after a several minutes, he turned the car off and got out of it. After Rick had gotten out, he took Judith from Sophia, as everyone climbed out of the RV and approached the gate. Anna put the leash on Juno once more, to make sure that Juno didn't accidently attack someone. She stood next Merle, who stood next to his brother as he clutched his primed crossbow.
"You'll have to teach me how to use that." Anna muttered as she looked passed Merle at Daryl.
The corner of Daryl's mouth twitched but he was too tense to give her much more than that. As Aaron helped Eric to the gate, it slid open part of the ways and they all just stopped and stared at the gate dumbly. Suddenly a metal garbage can beside Daryl, fell over, startling everyone with Daryl immediately firing in the direction, as the gate opened the rest of the way. Daryl bent over and picked up what he'd just shot, with Merle looking over his shoulder curiously, then looked at Aaron and the new guy as he held up a possum.
"We brought dinner." He said to them.
Merle laughed loudly as he thumped his brother on the back and Anna shook her head as she chuckled. The man at the gate, looked a little frightened as he looked them over, and Anna didn't blame him. Despite having two teenagers and a baby, they were armed to the teeth, dirty and had several brawny and menacing looking men among them; they looked as dangerous as they were.
Aaron waved his hand at them. "It's okay." He said partly to them and partly to the gate guard. "Come on in, guys."
They all cautiously walked through the gate, inside the walls and once they were inside, the gate closed behind them, making them all nervous once more. The new guy looked at them again, then finally spoke up again.
"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." He instructed them. "Stay, you hand them over."
Rick stepped forward. "We don't know if we want to stay." He said, his colt in hand.
Aaron turned to the other man. "It's fine, Nicholas."
"If we were going to use them, we'd have started already." Rick stated.
"Let them talk with Deanna first." Aaron said.
"Who's Deanna?" Abraham asked from beside Anna and Merle as they now stood at the back of the group.
"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place." Aaron answered, then looked at Rick. "Rick, why don't you start."
Rick turned back to the group, then looked passed them as he squinted at the scenery beyond the gate and at first Anna thought he was going to tell them they were leaving but then he nodded at something. "Sasha." He said, then Anna turned and saw what he saw, a walker. Sasha turned, lined up the shot, then fired, a perfect shot.
Rick turned back to the man who Aaron had called Nicholas, as he stared in awe. "It's a good thing we're here." Rick said as he started forward.
They all followed Aaron as he walked down the street into what looked like fully intact suburban neighborhood. As they walked down the street, the residents all stopped and stared at them as they walked by, the people looking like the breakout had never happened. Their clothes were clean and in one piece, as was their skin, the streets and the houses. Aaron led them to the heart of the community to the nicest house they'd seen so far.
"Rick, come with me. The rest of you wait here, she'll want to talk to each of you." Aaron said then the two of them went inside alone.
They all huddled together and immediately started whispering to each other.
"What you do you all think?" Abraham asked.
Anna shrugged. "Seems legit. I mean they have kids running around, that has to count for something now days."
"It looks like the outbreak never happened here." Michonne noted. "It makes me both hopeful and uneasy."
"These people have no idea what it means to survive, it's like they've never had to." Daryl muttered, still looking a little nervous but for another reason.
"This place has a whole better feel than any place we've been to since the prison, hell, it feels safer." Glenn added, nodding his head in approval.
"Just because it looks nice on the surface, it doesn't mean it is below the surface." Carol said shaking her head. "Look at Woodbury, from what Michonne was saying, it looked nice on the surface as well. We should still be cautious."
Michonne shook her head. "No. This place has a completely different vibe. The second I stepped inside those walls, something felt off but this place…it just feels green, inexperienced."
Merle scoffed. "It wasn't always like that, it just became that. The Governor's mind warped over time, he wasn't that bad in the beginning. This place could be just like Woodbury, they might just be better at hidin' it."
"I was never in Woodbury, but I don't think this place is like that, I agree with Michonne. Somehow these people have managed escape the worst of things." Anna said as she looked behind her.
They all settled into their own conversations, as they waited. Rick was gone for about fifteen minutes before he re-emerged from the house, followed by an older woman. When he finally stopped in front of their group, he studied them briefly, then indicated the older woman beside him.
"This is Deanna." Rick said introducing her to them. "She had requested that we turn over all our weapons, and I've agreed."
"When you leave these walls, you will get them all back, I assure you." Deanna said politely.
A woman with dark hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail appeared with a cart and after a moment's hesitation, Rick put his colt and machete on the cart. The others followed his lead, trusting Rick's judgement, putting all their weapons on the cart all except Merle who just glared at Rick. Anna nudged his ribs earning a glare from him. With an irritated sigh, Merle finally relented, dropping his hunting rifle unhappily onto the stack, then removing the blade from his stump and dropping it on the pile as well.
Carol for some reason, acted like she could barely hoist the assault rifle on her shoulder, then once she'd set her weapons on the cart, rubbed her shoulder and looked around herself uncomfortably. Anna first put her pistol and assault rifle on the cart, then lifted her bow and quiver from her back and set it on the cart. Daryl was the last to disarm and he did not seem happy about setting his weapons down, as he walked back over to her and Merle and glared at the ground as he clung to his possum.
"Thank you for your co-operation." Deanna said, then looked at Carl. "How about I talk with you next? Then you and your father can go to the house together."
Carl looked over at his father, who nodded his head, then Carl followed after Deanna with Judith still in his arms, as they retreated back into the house. Less than ten minutes later, they both returned, Carl walking down to his father then two of them followed Aaron as Deanna looked straight at Maggie.
"Maggie, is it?" Deanna asked, and Maggie nodded. "You're up next."
Everyone decided to sit on the ground and the steps as they waited their turn. Glenn then Sasha went next followed by Daryl and Abraham before Anna was finally led into the house to where Deanna waited in the living room. When Anna entered the living room, Deanna stood and indicated the cushioned chair across from her.
"Why don't you take a seat?" Deanna asked as she once more took a seat.
Anna sat down in the chair, then dropped Juno's leash, an indication that she could relax.
"I imagine the dog is yours?" Deanna asked smiling at Juno.
"She is. Her name is Juno." Anna said as she scratched her head.
"She's beautiful. Is she a German Shephard?" Deanna asked as she reached towards her, offering her hand for Juno to smell.
Anna laughed as she shook her head. "No, a Belgian Malinois. A common mistake. She's Navy SEAL, like me."
Deanna looked at her confused for a moment but then her face cleared as she understood her meaning. "Oh, is she a bomb detecting dog?" Deanna asked genuinely curious.
"That's one of the things she does. She also smells out people, either to track specific down or to find random people in their hiding places."
"Interesting." Deanna said smiling as she sat back. "We have other dogs in the community but they're just pets. I'm sorry, could you state your name and former profession, for posterity sake." Deanna requested, indicating the camera over her shoulder. "I hope you don't mind."
Anna shrugged, not really caring. "I'm Annabelle Ford. I was a Senior Petty Officer with the SEALs, K-9 Division."
"Ford? Any relation to Abraham?" Deanna asked as she wrote something down.
"He's my older brother. We actually just reconnected for the first time since things went down, the day before we met Aaron."
"Oh, really? Well that worked out well for you!" Deanna exclaimed, genuinely pleased. "What other talents do you have? Are you married?"
"Not married and no other family other than Abe…that I'm aware of." Anna said as she thought. "I'm good at blending in with new people. Abe and I are army brats, we spent our wholes lives constantly getting to know people. I'm pretty good with my hands. I can fix most basic things and building things." Anna chuckled as a memory surfaced out of no where's. "When Abe and I were kids, we both built ourselves our own race cars outta wood our uncle had in his garage, then decided it was a good idea to race them down a dirt hill nearby. Abe, of course, won but got a broken arm and a black eye as a conciliation for his victory. Our mother was rippin' mad and lucky for Abe, our dad was on tour."
"Sounds like something my sons would do." Deanna said smiling. "You said you just met up with your brother and Rick's group, where had you been previously?"
Anna went into a lengthy explanation of her journey up until she reunited with Abraham and when she was done, Deanna seemed satisfied, told her to report to her in the morning and let her go. When she went outside, Daryl and Abraham were still waiting with Aaron and when she joined them, Aaron guided them up the street. He pointed out a couple of the houses and their occupants before coming to the end of a street and stopping.
"These two houses here are where you and your friends will be staying for the time being." Aaron said as he stood on the street. "We'll eventually find more spaces for all of you but for the time being, this is home."
"Thanks." Abraham said as he offered Aaron his hand. "And sorry for being so prickly. Michonne was probably right, we've been out there for too long."
Aaron took his hand and shook it. "I understand, you've all survived this long for a reason. Now why don't you all go inside. We have running water and power and there should be some fresh clothes and some food inside."
They nodded then walked up the steps as Aaron went back to Deanna's house to shepherd more of their people to the house. When they stepped through the front door, Anna stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the kitchen before her.
"What's the hold up?" Abraham complained then shoved her forward. "Good gracious ignatious!" Abraham exclaimed as he saw what had stopped her. "We never had a place so nice." Abraham continued as he ran his hand over the granite counter tops.
"Mom woulda been in heaven, cooking in here." Anna said as she ran her hand over the stainless-steel stove.
"You don't cook?" Daryl asked smirking slightly. "Merle'll be disappointed."
"I have a passable ability, which he is well aware of." Anna said throwing an apple at him, which he caught easily.
Sasha suddenly trotted down the steps, pausing on the bottom step, a little startled by their presence. When she collected herself, she indicated the steps over her shoulder.
"Showers free and there are clothes in the closet in the far bedroom." Sasha said as she finally stepped down into the kitchen.
"Where are the others?" Daryl asked.
"I think Rick and Carl are checking out the other house and I don't know where Maggie and Glenn are, probably the other shower."
Abe grinned as he snorted then waved towards the steps. "Ladies first." He said to Anna.
Anna smiled, gave her brother a hug before running up the stairs, taking two at a time. Once at the top of the steps, the hall turned immediately to the left then turned again after ten feet. Along the walls was a bunch of doors with only one being closed. So, Anna walked into each room, found the clothes that Sasha had mentioned and picked out a plain white tank top, a pair of jeans and fresh pair of underwear, then finally entered the bathroom and closed the door.
When Anna stepped into the shower, she sighed as the hot water ran over her shoulders. After scrubbing herself thoroughly then brushing out the tangles in her hair and then let her red waves hang loosely down her back for the first time since she'd left the base. After she'd brushed her teeth, Anna walked down the stairs once more to find Carol in the kitchen with strips of meat on a frying pan and Sasha lounging on the couch with Glenn and Maggie.
"Have you showered yet?" Anna asked as she walked over to Carol.
Carol smiled at her kindly. "Nope. Do you think you can look after this while I go up?"
"Sure. Although I can't promise I won't burn it." Anna said walking around the island.
"I'll help." Maggie said as she entered the kitchen.
111
An hour later everyone gathered around the table and island, eating and talking. The air around the kitchen was cautiously optimistic as they all were smiling but Anna could see people constantly looking around, waiting for the other shoe to fall. When she'd first seen Rick step into the house, she hadn't immediately recognized him and thought some strange man was walking into the house but when Carl followed behind him, she suddenly recognized him.
"Holy tolieto!" Anna exclaimed. "There was a man under all that hair!"
Carl burst out laughing as did Glenn from the living as Maggie and Sasha smiled.
When they were finished eating, they all gathered every blanked and pillow they could find in the house and started setting up, getting ready to sleep in the living room. Everyone flinched, and Juno growled when a knock came at the door. Rick walked over to the door and calmly opened the door, letting Deanna step inside.
"Rick…" She started then stopped to stare at him. "Wow." She said, eliciting a groan from Rick. "I didn't know what was under there. Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all settling." She stepped in further, looking into the living room where they had all gathered. "Oh my. Staying together. Smart."
"No one said we couldn't." Rick said, eyeing Deanna suspiciously.
"You said you're a family." Deanna said smiling. "That's what you said. Absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds, and nothing in common can become that. Don't you think?"
"Everybody said you gave them jobs." Rick inquired.
"Mm-hmm" Deanna said nodding. "Yeah. Part of this place. Looks like the communist have won after all.
"Well you didn't give me one." Rick pointed out.
"I just haven't told you yet." Then looked passed Rick to Michonne. "And Michonne." She said then looked at Daryl who sat by the window. "I still have to figure out what I can give the Dixon boys to do, but I'll figure it out." She smiled as she nodded to Rick then turned and left.
I may not have edited the last 5%, so I'm sorry if there are glaring mistakes.
-Shockra