A/N: in honor of today being the one year anniversary of my very first fic "Finger on the Trigger", here's a new chapter of "Finger on the Trigger - Part II"

I hope y'all enjoy it and please let me know what you think! :)

*there are a few time jumps in this chapter.

Finger On The Trigger

Part II

Chapter 4

Rick-

We made it to Terminus after takin' a vote and deciding we should at least check it out. We all agreed we wouldn't stay unless the rest of our family was there. If they weren't, we would keep lookin'.

Merle stayed behind with Annie and Shawn. I would have preferred Carl to stay behind too but I knew Merle could get the babies out if somethin' went wrong. Carl was better off with us.

At least that's what I had thought.

Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Bob are back with us now along with a few new people.

I don't know how long we've been here. Weeks, months maybe. But everyday I pray Merle got away with the babies. If he didn't, they're just gone.

Same as Beth. Same as Judith.

Beth-

I tightened my arm around Judith who was strapped to my chest and asleep as I raised my knife.

For the past few minutes every step I make has an echo. Someone is following us close enough I can hear the crunch of leaves beneath their feet and twigs breaking.

It's not a walker, it can't be. Not with the way their footsteps shadow mine.

I tried to fight back the panic I could feel rising in my chest when I felt Judith squirming around. I said a silent prayer in hopes that she wouldn't wake up and if she did, we would be alright.

The way things would get quiet when I stopped only made my heart beat faster. I was quite certain I could protect myself and Judith against one, maybe two, people but if there were more, we were screwed.

I listened intently as I continued to walk. With every step I took, the others felt as if they were gettin' closer.

Judith began whimpering. I tried to soothe her before she started wailing but I was unsuccessful.

"Shh, Judy," I whispered and tried to bounce her as I continued to walk.

"Maybe she's hungry?"

I spun around at the sound of someone's voice and raised my gun, never letting my left hand leave Judy.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

"Um...I...I'm Father Gabriel."

"'Father' Gabriel?"

"I am...was a priest. My church isn't far from here."

"So, 'Father Gabriel', why have you been following us?"

He looked at Judy who was still cryin', "I saw you had a child with you...and you're alone."

"So that gives you the right to follow us?" I said as I flicked the safety off.

He raised his hands, "I didn't mean anything by that, ma'am. I just saw the two of you were alone and I was going to offer you a place to rest, a safe place."

"A safe place? You expect me to believe that?"

"As I told you, my church isn't far from here but it's safe. You and your child could rest and be safe."

"No, it's not. There's no such thing as a safe place anymore, not in this world."

"It is safe there. I can promise you that. It's safe."

"No place is safe anymore. Not for very long. I suggest you turn around and go back the way you came. We don't need your help."

"Ma'am, please let me help you. You and your child can stay inside the church. I'll go elsewhere. I cannot, in good conscience, walk away from the two of you."

"Yes you can and you will or I will put a bullet in your head."

I stood there with the gun raised while he stared at us for a moment before nodding and turning around. He took a few steps before turning back to face me.

"If you change your mind, you and the child are welcome to stay at the church anytime. The way you're going, you're going to come out at an old campground. If you continue that way, the nearest town is maybe a two day walk but if you change your mind, go out to the highway and go right. You'll see a sign that says 'St. Sarah's Church'. That's where I'll be. Knock twice and I'll let you in."

I watched as he walked off without turning back to look at us. I knew we needed a safe place to stay, even if just for the night but I couldn't bring myself to believe his church was safe.

As I walked in the opposite direction, I started thinking about the last few months and how wrong I had been about so many things.

I remember tellin' Daryl that there was still good people but I'm not sure I believe that anymore. After seein' what Rick did and then Carol, how could good people survive?

Good people, weak people weren't meant to survive. But I'm not weak, not like I used to be. Back on the farm, when I cut my wrist and when Shane hurt me, I had been weak then but I'm not anymore and I refuse to let myself be like that again. Not just for me but for Judy too. I need to be strong for my daughter.

We must have been walkin' for hours before I decided to stop.

Judy hadn't been terribly fussy but I knew he was hungry.

I found a place to stop, even for just a few minutes.

A few minutes, that's all it really was.

I had time to change Judy's diaper and give her a few bites to eat before the wind picked up and the sky started turning dark. The clap of thunder in the distance caused her to start cryin' more than she had been before.

After I wrapped her back up, the rain started pouring down so bad I couldn't see in front of me.

I clung to Judy as I leaned up against a tree and tried to shield her from the rain.

Judy's cryin' got louder, or at least it seemed like it did, the longer we sat there.

Several walkers hobbled past us without noticing us. We were lucky but I knew we couldn't stay there.

"I'm sorry, Lori." I whispered as I stood up and walked in the opposite direction of where I had been going.

Maybe I could check out the church, see if there are others there, if I'll be endangering Judy more. Maybe it was safe there.

Rick-

"Rick, we got out. It's over," Glenn said.

"It's not over 'til they're all dead." I was ready to take them all out. Every one of them that was left.

The others protested. I understand that they all just wanted to leave, to get away from there but I couldn't. I've lost too much.

Daryl was the first one to spot Carol. He took off runnin' for her then we all followed.

We had someone back. Even if it wasn't who I wanted it to be, she's still family and she's back with us.

Beth-

I watched the church as best I could through the rain.

There didn't seem to be anything or anyone around so I decided to take the chance.

I said a little prayer that everything would be fine, maybe this place really was safe.

I took off runnin' and almost slipped down in the mud when a walker lunged at me. I hadn't seen it before but it didn't get me. I didn't even bother to kill it. I didn't even want to because that meant I'd have to let go of Judy and there was no way I'd do that.

Once we were under the awning, I let go of Judy so I could knock on the church door.

Part of me prayed Father Gabriel would be inside but the other part prayed he wouldn't be, that I would've been right. There's no place safe anymore.

I knocked twice like he had told me to but after the second knock, I turned away from the door and thought about runnin'.

"You changed your mind?" He sounded surprised.

I turned back around to face him and nodded.

"We won't stay long," I said and shrugged, "just until this storm passes."

He moved aside and let us in.

The church was empty, which surprised me. I would've thought that maybe there would be others but there wasn't. There was just him.

He locked the door and then disappeared into one of the rooms before sayin' anything to me.

"Take these," he said when he returned. I reached out for the blankets in his hands and wrapped Judy up in them and laid her down on one of the pews.

"You should try to get dry too."

"I'm fine," I said as I sat down next to her.

"Have you eaten?"

"I'm fine," I mumbled.

I heard his footsteps but I didn't pay attention to what he was doin'. Daryl and Rick would be pissed at me fore not payin' attention but in that moment, I didn't care. Judy had quit cryin' and was warmin' up. We were inside, out of the rain and away from the walkers.

"Here," he held out a can, "it's mixed vegetables but it's better than nothing."

He continued to hold the can out to me until I took it from him.

"How long have you and your baby been alone?"

I looked down at Judy. "Too long. A month, maybe."

One month later...

Rick-

"Daryl's still hasn't found any sign of Merle," Carol said as she sat down next to me but she didn't look at me, she stared straight ahead at the fire as it lit up our camp.

"I'm sorry about Annie and Shawn," she continued but I know Merle will protect them.

"Yeah. I sure as hell hope so."

She took a deep breath and turned to look at me. "Rick, look at me." When I did, she put her hand on my shoulder and shook her head. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you this before but...but before we got to Terminus, Tyreese and I had Judith."

I cocked my head and stared at her.

"We had her, Rick..."

"Is she...is...what happened?" I stood up and tried to keep my distance from her.

Two months. Two whole goddamn months and she's just now tellin' me about Judy!

"What happened to her, Carol?!" I shouted. Everyone in camp went silent and I could feel their eyes on us.

Carol stood up. "Rick, calm down and..."

"Beth took her," Tyreese answered for her.

"What?" I turned to him.

"Beth took Judith," Tyreese repeated, "Carol and I had Judith with us and somehow Beth found us. She had been a lone for awhile but she didn't stay with us long. She...she left and took Judith with her."

"Where was the last place you seen them?" I asked as I started grabbin' a few things and throwin' them into a bag.

"We don't know," Tyreese said.

Carol grabbed my arm. "We tried to find them but we couldn't." She looked over to Daryl and watched him hang his head.

"I taught 'er ta cover 'er tracks," he mumbled.

Carl-

Dad dropped his bag and started shakin' it.

"My...my wife and daughter were with you three months ago and you're just now mentioning it to me?"

I smiled to myself, I had been right. Mom and Judy had been alive. They're still alive. I know they are. Mom wouldn't let anything happen to Judy. She'd protect her. Just like Merle will protect Shawn and Annie.

"We'll find them," I said out loud even though I didn't mean to.

"Dad, we'll find them."

Beth-

I laughed as Judy giggled and tossed her stuffed pig around.

She was happy just to be sittin' on the floor in the church office, playin' with her only toy.

"Beth?" Father Gabriel said after knockin' once.

"You can come in," I said as I stood up and took the box from his arms when he opened the door.

"These are the last few cans of food we have," he said. "I put everything I can find in here. I shouldn't be gone more than a few days, two at the most. But I want you to move all of the blankets and everything you may need into this room before I leave. I'll stay at the door until I hear it lock and then you need to push the desk in front of this door."

I nodded and, leavin' Judy to play with her toy, I followed him around the church and gathered everything we would need. Then I followed him to the church door.

"If I'm not back in a week, you and Judy leave," he said before closing the door behind him.

Two days later...

Rick-

We were gettin' as far away from Terminus as we could but we were goin' slow. Mostly because we were all lookin' for signs of Merle and Beth.

I guess it would be took much to ask of God for us to find them together. To find my wife, three of our kids and Daryl's brother all safe and sound, yeah, shit like that doesn't happen to for us. We're not that lucky.

"Help!"

"Help, anybody! Help!"

"Dad, come on," Carl said eagerly.

The screamin' continued.

"Come on," he said again, lookin' at me. "Come on!"

We all took off runnin' towards the screams. It wan't the best idea, for all we knew it could be a trap but we took care of the walkers anyway.

"Come on down," I told the man that was up on the boulder.

"You okay?" I asked just as he started theowin' up.

"I'm Gabriel."

"Do you have any weapons on you?" I asked.

He chuckled nervously and looked around at us all.

"Do I look like I would have any weapons?"

"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like," Abraham told him.

"I have no weapons of any kind. The word of God is the only protection I need," he answered.

"Sure didn't look like it," Daryl said to him.

He smiled. "I called for help. Help came." He looked around at us, "Do you have...have any food? Whatever I...I had left, it just hit the ground."

"We have some pecans," Carl offered him.

"Thank you," he said as he took them from Carl.

"Do you have a camp?" He asked me.

"No. Do you?"

"I have a church," he said nervously.

Beth-

I picked Judy up and bounced her on my hip as I walked around the pews.

Father Gabriel had told me to stay in the church office but I couldn't.

After two days, I was beginning to get restless and so was Judy. I figured it couldn't hurt for us tl walk around a little bit.

Judith started cooing and that's when I heard the voices and ran into the office.

Someone was close to the church. Close enough I didn't have time to push the deal in front of the office door before I heard the church doors open and several sets of footsteps on the hardwood floor.

I held Judith close with her stuffed pig to soothe her so she wouldn't start cryin' as I curled up in the corner of the room and I closed my eyes.

The closer the footsteps got, the tighter I squeezed my eyes shut and then...then the doorknob rattled as it was being turned and the door creaked open.

But I didn't open my eyes. Not even when I heard someone gasp.

"Beth?" A familiar voice whispered my name but I kept my eyes closed.

And then suddenly those footsteps were further away and several more sets were approaching the room.

"Don't touch her," I heard Father Gabriel say but it was too late.

Someone was pullin' on my arms and tryin' to take Judy away from me.

"No," I cried without openin' my eyes. "Please. Please don't take her. Don't hurt her."

"Mom?" It was Carl's voice. "Mom?"

I opened my eyes but shook my head and quickly closed them.

It can't be him. It can't be Carl. He's dead. They're all dead. All I have is Judy.

"Beth," Father Gabriel whispered. "Please stand up and come with me. We have visitors. They saved me. I was asking God for help and he sent them. He sent them to save me so I trust in him that they won't hurt you or Judith."

I stood on trembling knees to follow him out of the room, Judith still in my arms.

Rick-

I dropped my gun and bag when I seen her walkin' out of the office with Judith in her arms.

"Beth?"

Everyone gasped at the sight of her and then they all got quiet and moved closer.

"Beth? Baby?" I called out as I ran to her.

Her body stiffened when I wrapped my arms around her and Judith and she tried to pull away from me.

I pulled away first and cupped her face in my hands and kissed her but she didn't do anything, she didn't react in any way.

"You're not here," she whispered, "you're not really here."

A/N: yes, I borrowed lines and scenes from the show. And no, this story will not include "Coda", our girl will live!