Paty S: Yes, I will be following the show's storyline, but there will be plenty of original plots and "bonus scenes" thrown in along the way as well.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."

After the remaining church had settled in to get some rest, Tyreese had gone back out, toward the cemetery and begun digging graves for the Terminites. Rick had gone over to Judith and Carl, placing a kiss atop both their heads when his gaze followed out the windows and realized what Tyreese was doing. Telling everyone to have something to eat and get some rest for a while, he ducked back outside as well to help.

Carl had been taking care of his sister all night and, being a growing boy, he needed his rest even more than the adults. Judith was very wide awake so Georgie took her from him and shooed him away to the office to sleep. Michonne followed after him, to either keep him company or keep him protected, while Sasha laid down on one of the pews, but Georgie doubted the woman was doing much sleeping of her own. After the loss of Bob and what they'd done to the Terminites, it was hard to let the mind rest. Gabriel just sat at the first pew on the side of the office, hunched forward with his hands together in possible prayer. Georgie, though, walked around a bit, bouncing Judith in her arms and kissing the little girl's temple while bringing her over to one of the side windows. Peering out, she watched Tyreese and Rick digging graves together. Tyreese was already inside one that was deep enough, while Rick had just begun.

"There's your daddy," she murmured against Judith's temple. "He's helping Uncle Tyreese do a good thing for those bad people."

Georgie continued to watch both men, feeling guilty, as if she should be helping them as well; but she was helping. She was taking care of Judith. She still watched the men, though; admiring their perseverance. Tyreese was blocked mostly by some tall grass. Rick was the only one in full view still, with his back to the church. She watched how the muscles in his shoulders and arms flexed with each movement he made and, even despite the days old grime, blood and sweat that permeated his shirt and clung to the his hair which curled at the base of his neck, Georgie found herself drawn to him.

With or without the grime, blood and sweat and even the odor, which they all had, Rick was a very good looking man. It was pointless for Georgie to deny it.

When she got to wondering what he looked like with that shirt off, that's when she shook her head and its thoughts away and turned from the window.

"Should we get some sleep?" she asked Judith. "I know I need it."

Georgie crept into the office and laid Judith down in the Moses bed and brought both out into the sanctuary. She set the Moses bed down on the floor between a row of pews and then laid down on said pew, on her side so that she could reach a finger down and offer it to Judith's hand again. As soon as Judith took hold, Georgie set her head down on the wooden surface and was out like a light moments later.

It was no more than an hour later when Rick and Tyreese came back into the church. The Terminites had been buried, but without grave markers. They didn't deserve grave markers. Rick sauntered up the center aisle as Tyreese shut the door behind them. The former didn't see anyone but noticed the office door was shut. Once he got about halfway down the aisle, he spotted Georgie and Judith. Both were asleep, and he smirked. Rick placed his hand on the pew in front of them and looked down to see Judith still holding Georgie's finger and let his smirk turn into a smile.

Moving around to that next pew, he sat down and turned to nod at Tyreese who was walking past. Swiveling his body, he laid back against the pew's hard surface, placing an arm under his head and bending his legs at the knees as he propped them up onto the pew. Staring up at the church ceiling, Rick's mind reeled, but he couldn't fight his own slumber any longer. He'd been awake more than twenty-four hours and his body was exhausted. He gave in to sleep, and it was glorious.

A few hours later, everyone began waking up.

Judith had rolled over and was holding her head up as she cooed and gabbed to herself, which was what woke Georgie up. Popping one eye open at first, she smiled at the sight of the little girl and then opened the other eye. She reached a hand out and brushed Judith's light dusting of hair back, softly, and just watched quietly.

A male groan of waking consciousness came from the pew in front of them, followed by the sound of shifting around and a slight creaking from the wood. After hearing an exaggerated yawn, Georgie saw Rick pop up from over the top of the pew out the corner of her eye. She turned her attention to him and he turned in his pew and looked at her, and then leaned on the back of his pew to glance down at Judith.

"Hey, baby girl," he called out to his daughter. Judith struggled to find where the voice had come from, but she smiled nonetheless, which made both Rick and Georgie smile as well.

"Sleep well, princess?" Georgie asked him.

Rick snickered. "Well enough," he replied. "How about you?"

"It wasn't the best sleep I've had, but I'll live."

Folding his arms on the back of his pew, he rested his chin down upon said arms. "What do you miss?"

Georgie shook her head. "It's not morning anymore."

Rick shrugged. "But we did just wake up. I think we can let the rules slide just this once," he commented.

Thinking a moment, Georgie said, "Hot, steamy showers."

Smiling, Rick nodded. "Mmm, yeah," he agreed.

"What do you miss?"

"My razor." He grabbed a hold of the bottom of his beard. "This is getting a bit out of control."

Georgie chuckled. "Well, I have no basis for comparison; this is the only way I've seen you. But, it works really well for you. Not every guy could wear or grow a beard."

Rick nodded; his smile on both his lips and in his eyes. "Glenn, for example," he remarked. "I've been with him since the beginning and I haven't seen him shave at all in all this time."

Georgie knitted her brow, trying to hold back a hearty laugh. "And doesn't he only have basically peach fuzz on his upper lip?"

"Yeah," Rick nodded, giving in to his own laugh.

A moment of silence fell over the pair as they both looked back down toward Judith.

When Georgie looked back at Rick, she sat up and reached a hand out to him and pinched at the material covering his shoulder. "I could try and wash this shirt for you. We got a sink with running water and soap in that bathroom. I could get some of that funk off ya so you won't kill so many flies when you walk by," she teased.

"This thing was bright white not even a week ago."

"Well, I'm sure blood, sweat and walker slime from down in that food bank basement hasn't helped any."

"No, it really hasn't."

Carl was still asleep in the office, so they all let him sleep. Michonne came out soon enough and took Judith while Georgie and Rick went off toward the bathroom. Gabriel still hadn't slept, while Sasha was seated, cleaning a gun in a different pew from where she had laid down earlier. There was enough room for only Georgie to stand in the bathroom, so Rick just stood there, leaning against the door frame while she lit a candle and set it on the back of the toilet tank to provide some lighting for inside the small, dark room. Turning on the faucet, no hot, or even warm, water came, but it was better than nothing. Grabbing the bar of soap a lot of them had already used, she cleaned some of the grime off it first before holding her hand out to Rick, gesturing for him to remove his shirt.

When he lifted it up over his head, Georgie stole a glance and liked what she'd seen well enough but gave no inkling that she had been thinking anything of the sort. Or, at least she hoped she hadn't. Rick remained there after he handed her his shirt and watched her lather it up with soap. While she rubbed the material together and then watched how a lot of the water began to turn brown, Rick made a face. He folded his arms and brought his nose in the direction of his armpits and made another face as his own expense.

Reaching forward, he picked up the bar of soap and stuck it and his hands under the water, momentarily getting in Georgie's way as their shoulders bumped into each other.

"Sorry," he muttered. Setting the bar back down on the sink, he brought his soapy hands under his armpits and gave them a quick cleaning, and then lathered up his arms somewhat.

Georgie realized he was trying to clean himself up a bit, too, and stepped enough so he could reach forward to put his hands back under the water in order to rinse himself off.

Smiling, Georgie wrung out his shirt and then brought it up to his face and wiped it clean for him before dragging it down to his neck. He just stood there, letting her do it, looking appreciatively at her. After that, she rinsed the shirt out again, as best as she could.

"I'll drape this somewhere to dry for a while and leave you in here to clean up whatever else might need cleaning," she spoke, letting what that 'whatever else' go unsaid, as she was referring to something of the more private nature.

Rick nodded with a small chuckle. "Yeah, okay, thank you."

Georgie nodded back at him and then walked over to the nearest pew and draped his shirt over it. Plenty of water still dripped from it onto the floor but that didn't bother her or anyone else. No one would care if there were water stains on the floor. Water stains were the least of their worries after the stains the church accrued the night before.

Rick walked out of the bathroom a short time later, looking considerably refreshed, and both Georgie and Michonne seemed to look on with approval. Everyone else seemed to follow suit after that, ducking into the bathroom to properly wash up over the sink; even Carl, once he woke up just before nightfall.

Once everyone was somewhat cleaned, and they had had a little something more to eat, Rick picked up his shirt, which was still quite damp, and put it back on. He shook slightly, the coolness against his skin giving him somewhat of a chill up his back. Taking Judith, he was feeding her when Michonne had gone outside for some fresh air and when Gabriel ducked outside a short while later as well.

It wasn't even five minutes later that Gabriel came back into the church, saying there was someone in the woods, but didn't know who.

Rick was quickly on his feet and handed Judith off to Tyreese, who was standing closer to him. Grabbing his gun, Rick hurried up the aisle, and Sasha and Georgie were right behind him. Opening the doors and stepping out into the darkness, the three of them found Michonne and Daryl, and someone young black man who looked to only be about twenty or so years old.

After nodding to Daryl, relieved he had returned, he nodded to the new guy. "Who's this?" Rick questioned, tensing slightly.

"I—I'm Noah."

"Carol?"

Daryl shook his head. "We followed a car, just like the one I saw take Beth, all the way into Atlanta. It's some hospital, Grady Memorial. They're picking injured people off the streets and taking care of 'em, but they won't let the people leave; making 'em work off the forced kindness showed to them. No better than indentured servants." He moved closer to Rick. "They took Beth there, and now they got Carol. They hit her with one of their cars."

"How do you play into all this?" Rick asked Noah.

"I was at Grady. They brought me in the same as Beth," he replied. "Beth helped me get away, but she wasn't able to."

"Beth's alive?"

Noah nodded. "Yeah." Then he added, "The hospital's being run by cops now."

"They had more people and weapons on their side, that's why we came back here," Daryl remarked to Rick. "We need to rally the troops and rescue Carol and Beth."

Rick fell silent a minute, running a hand over his mouth and beard as he stared of toward into the darkness. He was trying to process a plan in his head.

"Are the cops a physical threat to Carol and Beth?" Michonne asked, looking at Noah. "Will they be safe until tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he nodded again. "They should be fine for now. They have medicine and machines to take care of Carol's injuries."

Michonne turned to Rick. "Whatever is decided, we need to wait until morning. We can't go now. It's too dark and we don't have the upper hand."

"No, I know," Rick agreed. He sighed, placing his hands on his narrow hips. Looking to Noah, he gestured at the kid with his head. "You hungry?"

Smiling a little, Noah nodded a third time. "Yes, please, if you have something to spare."

Rick turned and looked over at Georgie. "Can you show him to some food?"

"Yeah, of course."

She was about to lead Noah inside — she'd even gestured for the kid to walk ahead of her — when Rick grabbed her wrist and held her back to whisper, "Keep an eye on him, though…just in case."

Georgie held Rick's eye as he slowly release his grip on her.

She nodded. "I will."

Turning, Georgie walked inside the church with Noah hobbling in front of her on what looked to be a bum leg, sprained ankle or something. Gabriel, Carl and Tyreese stood to greet the newcomer with curious gazes. Georgie made the introductions and the Noah began to explain how he knew the girl Beth, whom Georgie hadn't met yet. The girl had apparently been nabbed by a car with a white cross on the back window and she and Daryl were traveling together after the prison fell. She also happened to be that man Hershel's daughter and Maggie's half-sister.

"It seems like we mostly have an abundance of beans," Georgie was informing Noah with a smirk. "Baked, green, kidney…"

"Nah, that's okay. Beans is good eatin'," he smirked back, graciously taking can of baked beans that Gabriel had opened for him.

"Your leg hurt?" she asked. "Do you need a fresh bandage or something?"

"No, I just fell on it. I think it might be sprained. It's not cut or anything," he assured. "Thank you, though."

Georgie smiled and patted his shoulder. "Sure thing."

Tyreese passed Judith off to her then, just as he noticed Sasha heading back inside. He wanted to talk to her about something and Carl seemed tired again. Even though the boy had slept the longest of everyone during the day, it hadn't been consistent sleep. He'd woken up several times; his dreams getting the better of him. He wouldn't admit if they were nightmares or not though; trying to exude a tougher exterior for his father's benefit, no doubt. Georgie could tell Carl didn't want to put any more worries and burdens on his father's shoulders.

Rocking Judith in her arms, Georgie hummed a little as Rick and the rest of the group finally came back into the church as well, having been discussing more about the current situation at hand in further detail or catching Daryl up on the shit that had gone down in the last day.

Rick walked right up to her and smiled immediately at his daughter, leaning forward to cup the side of her face and kiss her forehead. "Daryl says he trusts Noah," he spoke to Georgie. "But what's your opinion on him? You getting a good vibe off him?"

Georgie shrugged and nodded at the same time. "Yeah, I am," she insisted. "I think he's just a kid who's trying not to seem scared, who wants something better like the rest of us. I doubt he's any sort of threat, if that's what you're wondering."

Rick tilted his head slightly, looking at Georgie. He placed a hand on her bare shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "Alright," he said quietly. "We're gonna just bunker down for the night, plan a little for tomorrow and then get some more sleep. Who knows the next time we'll get to take a moment to rest."

"Alright," Georgie echoed. "I'll keep Judith with me."

Rick nodded, agreeing. "Okay." He let his hand slip down her arm and began to walk away toward the others.

"Rick?"

"Yeah?" he looked back at her. "Tell Carl to go to sleep. He didn't sleep well today and he's clearly fighting it right now," she informed with a concerned smile. "He'll listen to you."

Rick's face became a little more serious and nodded appreciatively at Georgie. "Okay. Thank you."

The following morning, the church was being ripped apart as Daryl, Tyreese and Sasha built barricades in front of the church steps out of splintered pews and a stockade of organ pipes, all the while as Gabriel watched the desecration with dismay. On the sides of the church, Rick, Michonne and Carl boarded up the lower half of the windows while Georgie leaned against a tree with Judith in her arms once again. Georgie really wanted to help fortify the church as well, but Rick had asked her to take care of Judith, and she was happy to oblige. In caring for the little girl, she was doing her part.

She glanced over as Noah walked around, feeling a little out of place, which was to be expected for a newcomer to any group. Georgie had felt it initially, but she had joined at the same time as Abraham's group, so her beginning with Rick's people was less awkward.

The plan for rescuing Carol and Beth wasn't set in stone yet, it was a work in progress, but it was a trip that Rick, Daryl, Noah, Sasha and Tyreese were going to make. Georgie had assumed that was the group Rick had decided on and that he wanted her to continue caring for Judith here at the church, and she felt a little upset by it. Carol was her friend, Carol had saved her from dying alone on the roads, and Carol deserved as many people that could be spared to come to her aid.

While Rick was saying his goodbyes to Judith, holding her while he placed a kiss atop her head, Georgie was expecting the child to come back to her but, instead, Rick passed Judith on to Michonne and then hugged his son. Turning to Georgie last, slapped her arm gently.

"What you just standing around for?" he asked. "You coming or what?"

Georgie stood there dumbfounded for a moment. "Oh," she muttered. "I thought you wanted me here."

"I got things here," Michonne assured with a smile.

"I had this feeling like you might fight me if I said no to you about coming, so I just went ahead and skipped that part," Rick quipped.

"Why would you think I would fight you over it?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "Maybe it's that whole fiery redhead thing you got going on up there," he added, flicking the bun on top her head. Gesturing to an extra bag of supplies and weapons off to the side that Georgie hadn't noticed earlier, Rick lifted his own backpack on. "That's yours. Get it and let's go."

Georgie grinned. Turning to wave goodbye to Judith and also to Carl, she walked over to the bag and lifted it up over one shoulder and headed outside as Rick closed the doors behind them, shutting Michonne, Carl, Judith and Gabriel inside.

Loading into the back of the truck with Tyreese and Sasha, Georgie sat down and waited until the truck revved to life and began to move.

In Atlanta, the truck was parked inside an abandoned warehouse. The group stood around Rick who was crouched down over a floor plan of the ward where Carol and Beth were drawn into the dusty ground, rattling off the plan.

"At sundown we fire a shot into the air. Get two of them out on patrol. Then once it's dark enough that the rooftop spotter won't see us, we go. We cut the locks on one of the stairways, take it to the fifth floor. I open the door, Daryl takes the guard out."

"How?" Tyreese asked.

Rick looked up at him and answered nonchalantly, "He slits his throat." After a moment, he added, "This is all about us doing this quiet, keeping the upper hand. They're not expecting us. From there, we fan out. Knives and silenced weapons. We need to be fast." He began to draw X's in the dust, where he wanted everyone. "Tyreese, Sasha, take them. Daryl and Georgie, you two take care of whoever is in the kitchen. I got Dawn. If they're smart, the rest of them will give up. Then it'll be six on three; seven on three once we get a weapon to Beth."

"Twelve on three," Noah interjected. "The wards will help."

"That's best case. What's worst case?" Georgie questioned, looking at the others with arms folded. "All it takes is one of those cops going down the hall at the wrong time; then it's not quiet. All hands on deck. We're talking about a lot of bullets flying around."

"If that's what it takes," Sasha muttered.

Tyreese looked at his sister, and then at Georgie, following the latter's line of thinking. "It's not," he said. "If we get a couple of her cops alive out here, we do an even trade; theirs for ours. Everybody goes home."

"Yeah, I get it." Rick stood up, doubtful. "And it might work. This will work."

"Nah," Daryl piped up, gesturing to Tyreese. That'll work, too." The archer then turned his eyes upon Noah. "You say this Dawn; she's just trying to keep it together, right?"

"Trying and doing are two different things," Noah said, as Rick looked between the two.

Daryl continued, "You take two of her cops away, what choices does she have? Everybody goes home, like he says."

All Rick could do was nod. It seemed the majority favored Tyreese's plan more. He accepted the deviation and they began to put the plan to motion. Rick had moved toward a window shortly after. They had a slight view of the hospital from there. Wiping his hands on his pants, Rick turned his attention away from the window when he sensed someone approaching.

It was Georgie.

"You still prefer your plan, don't you?" she asked with a knowing smile. "And it was a good plan. Tyreese's just happened to be better."

Rick sighed. "Well, majority rules, right?"

"A good leader listens to his people."

"A good leader doesn't have to like what his people say."

"You're not gonna pout are you?" she teased.

"What? No." He smiled despite himself. The smile didn't last long, though.

"This is gonna work," Georgie assured. "We'll get Carol back and we'll get your other friend Beth back. We'll get them both, head back to the church and then we'll all go off and meet up with Abraham and the others. We'll head to DC." Turning slightly, she leaned up against the brick wall and held his eye. "We got a better world to look forward to."

"I hope so."

The initial gunshots had been fired and soon enough there was a cop car chasing Noah through an alleyway, where they cut him off by clipping him with the car. Noah tumbled back as a male and a female cop jumped out of the car and trained their guns on him, telling Noah to put his own gun down. Limping away, Noah obliged and put his hands up in the air and turned around as the male cop bound his wrists with restraints.

"Where's those rotters you were shooting at?" the male cop asked.

Rick whistled as the group approached with their weapons aimed at the cops. "Hands."

"What do you want?" the female cop asked. Both her and the male cop had spun and aimed their own guns at the group.

"Whatever this is, we can help," the male cop insisted.

"You do what we say, we don't hurt you," Rick informed.

The male cop considered and then held his hands up. "Okay," he said, as the female cop looked at him and then followed suit.

"Good," Rick nodded. "Now turn around. Put your guns on the floor and kneel."

The cops continued to obey as Sasha picked up the female cop's gun and pocketed it while Daryl grabbed the male cop's gun and handed it to Georgie. Daryl then took restraints from Sasha and bound the male cop's hands behind his back while Sasha did the same thing with the female after getting the restraints from Tyreese that had been around Noah's wrists. Georgie walked over and picked up Noah's gun and handed it back to him when his hands were free again.

"We need to talk," Rick said to the cops. "There's water if you need some and food."

"Mind if I ask you something?" The male cop asked as Daryl pulled him up to his feet. "The way you talk the way you carry yourself—were you a cop? Believe it or not, I was, too."

Noah walked up to Rick and muttered, "That's Lamson. He'll be down for this. He's one of the good ones."

Suddenly, a second car came screeching into the alley, causing the group to scatter slightly so they wouldn't be struck, but they aimed their guns and began firing at the grill and windshield. When the car kept its course, the group ducked out of the way, taking cover. Rick had to pull Georgie out of harm's way just before a bullet flew by her ear into the brick wall of the building behind her. She looked at him wild eyed for a moment, her 'thank you' unsaid but expressed as they both turned back toward the now parked cop car and fired at the windows.

The two bound cops were able to climb into the car which sped away moments later, with the group still firing after them. Sasha was able to take out one of their tires in the process.

Following after the car, the group moved out of the alley and into an open area which was blocked off. The car doors to the car were opened and the entire area seemed charred from the bombings that had taken place in Atlanta after the outbreak. What was more was that there were dozens of pinkish, skeletal walkers melted to the asphalt. Rick held a hand up for them to pause for a moment so they could assess their surroundings before he gave the go ahead for then to move forward.

Stepping around the carnage, the group noticed Lamson and the female cop running off, so they began to run after them.

"Two, on me," Rick said.

He and the others continued on while Daryl hung back. When Georgie realized he wasn't with them, she doubled back, only to find Daryl being choked by the third cop. Quietly, she hurried up to the cop and hit him with the butt of her rifle. He fell back, long enough for Daryl to scramble away. Before the cop could get back up to his feet, Rick appeared, shooting the head of a walker near Daryl, causing the cop to cease whatever he was about to do.

Rick had noticed Georgie was gone the same way she had noticed Daryl was.

The third cop threw his hands up. "Okay. You win, asshole." He got to his feet, watching as Rick kept his gun trained on him.

Georgie reached a hand out to Daryl, helping him up, while watching how Rick neared the cop.

"Rick. Rick!" Daryl called out. "Rick, three is better than two."

Rick smiled at Daryl, liking those numbers. He lowered his gun while Daryl restrained the cop.

"Thanks for the back-up," Daryl continued, glancing first to Georgie and then to Rick. "Both of you."

"Don't mention it," she replied. She had her rifle lowered as well, now hanging off her shoulder by the strap as she walked up to Rick with a grin. "Whoa there, cowboy."

He gave her a side glance; his own smile continuing a little. "What does that make you? Annie Oakley?"

Georgie rolled her eyes and snickered. "Hardly." As they walked into the building nearest them, she turned back to Rick. "We forgot this morning; what do you miss?"

"Oh shit, yeah," Rick remembered. As Daryl moved ahead of them with the cop, he thought about it for a moment or two. "Going to a Falcons game." Off Georgie's chuckle, he asked, "What do you miss?"

"Swimming in pools."

Rick nodded. "Maybe we'll find one of those in DC."

It turns out the female cop was called Shepherd and the asshole Georgie had gotten away from Daryl was Licari. Once in the warehouse, Shepherd explained that the group's hostage plan wouldn't work because Dawn didn't consider them valuable on account of their ongoing plot to overthrow her. Lamson, however, assured Rick the trade would work if they talked to Dawn in the correct manner.

"Let me help you," he offered, claiming a kinship with Dawn, having known her for eight years.

Shortly after, Lamson counseled Rick on negotiating with Dawn; explaining that Dawn would initially balk at the hostage deal, but would ultimately agree. Rick thanked Lamson and offered him water. When Lamson mentioned his first name was Bob, Georgie had overheard and noticed the way Sasha looked the cop's way and how her previous hardened exterior seemed to give way to some softness once again. Sasha took guard of him while the others prepared to head out.

However, when they returned, they found Sasha on the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Lamson had made an escape and was clearly the culprit in Sasha's injury. Tyreese was at his sister's side immediately, trying to bring her to, while Rick clenched his jaw and fists and took off.

The group could easily assume what happened next wouldn't be ideal for the runaway cop, not with Rick on his tail. And, when Rick returned about fifteen minutes later, without Lamson, the group looked at him and then at each other. Sasha was awake then and Georgie was trying to wipe her wound with a cloth she had found in the destroyed FEMA trailer outside. Georgie handed the cloth off to Sasha and then got up to walk over to Rick, who had pulled Daryl aside. She wanted in on their sidebar, whether they liked it or not.

Rick glanced at Georgie as she approached. "He wouldn't stop," he informed, referring to Lamson.

"This change things?" Daryl asked, holding onto his rifle over his shoulder.

"It has to."

"Maybe not," Georgie offered.

Rick whispered, not seeming to mind one bit having Georgie in on this tête-à-tête, "She said the plan won't work. The guy who did is dead. Maybe we gotta rethink this."

"They also said the cop in charge didn't have any love for him."

Daryl shrugged, "Maybe you did her a favor."

Rick fidgeted and looked toward Shepherd and Licari. "I don't know if they'll play ball."

"Let's find out," Daryl suggested.

The three sauntered up to the others; Georgie hanging back slightly, though, to let Rick take his reins.

"He was a good man," Shepherd spoke up. "He was attacked by rotters. Saw it go down."

"Huh." Rick was impressed. "You're a damn good liar."

"We're hanging by a thread here. He was attacked by rotters. That's the story," Shepherd insisted.

"You said the trade was a bad idea," Daryl remarked. "What changed?"

"Lamson was our shot. So it's this or you go in guns blazing, right? You don't want that."

"If this is some bullshit you're spinning, and things go south—" Daryl pointed a finger at her, getting a little angry.

"I know. I know the good ones from the bad." Shepherd looked directly at Rick. "Let us help you."

Rick considered, and then looked at Licari. "What about you? You wanna live? How much?"

"Dawn's afraid she'll look weak in front of us," Licari offered up. "Thinks it'll tip things against her. Hell, it will. She'll see this trade as a rip-off if she thinks you took out one of our guys. So it's a good thing Lamson got aced by rotters."

Rick smirked, but just barely, as he turned around and looked at Georgie and Daryl; both who seemed down with the plan at hand.

Later on, the group, except for Rick, was on the roof with their guns trained below, watching as Rick approached a cop car with his hands up. Georgie's rifle didn't have a scope on it so she had to squint and try and make out the details and pray her aim was that good from that far away if shit hit the fan real quick.

Because Rick was on the roof of a parking ramp, surrounded by other buildings which were slightly taller, his voice bounced off all those outer walls; allowing the rest of the group to hear him talking well enough.

"Officer Franco, Officer McGinley; I'm Rick Grimes," he greeted. The cops had hopped out of their car with their guns aimed at him. "I was a Deputy in the King County Sherriff's Department. I'm here to make a proposal."

"Lay your weapon on the ground."

"Alright," Rick obliged, crouching slightly and placing his Colt on the concrete before standing back up, slowly and carefully.

Georgie glanced at Daryl for a moment before fixing her attention back toward Rick. She watched how he turned around to reveal he had no other hidden weapons, before facing the other two cops again who approached him.

"What's your proposal?"

"You have two of my people, I have two of yours. We want to make an exchange. Then we'll be on our way. No one gets hurt."

"Who?

"Officers Shepherd and Licari for Beth and Carol. You picked up a woman yesterday after your people hit her with a car."

"Noah, he's with you? That's how you know?"

"Yes, he is."

"What about Officer Lamson?"

"He was attacked by the dead before we got to him."

Georgie whispered to Sasha, giving a nod of her head. "Walker."

"Where are your people?" one of the cops asked, as Sasha fired a silenced gunshot into the walker's head, dropping it.

"They're close," Rick continued. "Radio your lieutenant. I'll wait."

Rick was given the confirmation that the exchange would go forward. Their group followed Franco and McGinley back to the hospital, where they were let in. They held tight to their guns while Franco led the way. Shepherd and Licari were still bound with their hands behind their backs and the group kept their wits about them as they traipsed carefully and quietly through the halls and then single file up flights of stairs to the fifth floor.

By the time they reached the double doors to the ward, Georgie felt as though she could cut the tension in the air with a knife. She was standing behind Rick so she couldn't see through the narrow windows in the doors into the hall beyond where the other cops, Carol and Beth were supposed to all be waiting for them. Georgie could also feel her nerve endings under her skin beginning to dance.

"Holster your weapons," came a woman's voice across Franco and McGinley's radios.

Rick turned to the group. "You, too."

Georgie slung her rifle over her shoulder and made sure her hunting knife and her handgun were properly put away, as she now wore a holster on her belt for the latter.

The doors were opened, Franco and McGinley walked out first, followed by Rick who held onto Shepherd, then Daryl with Licari, and then the rest of the group. The hospital cops up the hallway from them parted and allowed the petite blonde teen, who Georgie assumed was Beth, rolled Carol forward in a wheelchair. Georgie breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat, to see that Carol was okay.

"They haven't been harmed," Rick called out.

"Where's Lamson?" the female cop, presumably Dawn, asked.

Shepherd answered, "Rotters got him."

"We saw it go down," Licari added, sticking to the lie.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," Dawn remarked. She didn't sound too sorry, though. "He was one of the good guys. One of yours for one of mine."

"Alright," Rick agreed, nodding to Daryl, who shoved Licari forward.

"Move."

As Daryl and Licari went halfway up the hall, a cop from the other end picked up a bag and pushed Carol the other half. Daryl took the bag and then took over pushing Carol back to the group. Then, Dawn, personally, took Beth by the arm and led her forward while Rick did the same with Shepherd. Rick reached for Beth and placed his lips comfortingly against the girl's temple, relieved to have her back in the group.

Georgie looked on with a small smile forming as she reached out and gave Carol's shoulder a squeeze; happy this exchange was going so well.

"Glad we could work things out," Dawn commented.

"Yeah," Rick nodded as the group began to disperse. They got what they came for and now they would leave.

"Now I just need Noah." Everyone stopped; the tension back. "And then you can leave."

Rick turned around, angry, as he walked forward. "That wasn't part of the deal," he said, as Noah hobbled behind him.

"Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and I'm losing her, so I need him back."

"Ma'am, please, it's not—" Shepherd began.

"Shepherd! My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died," Dawn continued.

Noah moved to walk forward but Daryl pushed him back. "No, he ain't staying."

"He's one of mine. You have no claim on him."

"The boy wants to go home, so you have no claim on him," Rick informed.

Georgie instinctively let her fingers reach toward her handgun, just in case. She felt like she was going to have to use it and her nerve endings were beginning to fray amidst the tension.

"Well, then we don't have a deal."

"The deal is done," Rick bit out.

"It's okay," Noah insisted, hobbling forward.

Rick stuck his hand out at the kid. "No. No."

"I got to do it." Noah removed his gun and handed it to Rick.

Beth stepped forward a bit. "It's not okay."

"It's settled," Dawn stated.

Noah walked off as Beth stormed forward. "Wait!"

"It's okay," he assured Beth as she hugged him.

Dawn turned and looked at Noah commenting smugly, "I knew you'd be back."

Georgie gave Carol's shoulder another squeeze and the older woman lifted her hand up to take Georgie's to hold, both glad to see each other and both feeling tense over the current situation. They all watched as Beth released herself from Noah's arms and walk up to Dawn, standing directly in front of her. The meek girl Beth had initially appeared as to Georgie, now seeming to stand strong and confidant. Noah took his cue and begrudgingly walked to join the cops behind Dawn and Beth.

"I get it now," Beth spoke.

It happened all so fast.

Beth seemed to stab Dawn with something and a gunshot rang out just as the back of Beth's head blew open. A large hole appeared at the top of her head, blood splattering out, as Dawn gasped at what she'd done, and she wasn't the only one who reacted as shocked. Everyone did. Instant shock quickly gave way to horror and anger and grief.

As the poor girl's lifeless body crumpled to the floor, Rick could be seen wiping Beth's blood from his face as Daryl stormed up to Dawn and shot her right in the forehead. Dawn's body fell back to the floor next to Beth's and then suddenly everyone was raising their weapons, preparing for retaliation on both sides.

"No! Hold your fire!" Shepherd shouted, holding her arms out at her sides to keep the other cops back. "It's over. It was just about her." She pointed at Dawn. "Stand down."

The Grady cops lowered their weapons, but Rick's group did not. Carol walked up to Daryl, who was sniffling and crying, placing a hand to his shoulder. Merely from behind, the others could tell how devastated he was. Georgie had never had the chance to actually meet the girl, but if her death could make a man like Daryl cry, she must've been something special to the group.

Daryl lowered his gun then, turning toward Carol but look down at Beth as Rick seemed confused and at a loss for words as he looked around everything and anything. Sasha and Georgie both leaned against Tyreese; tears were lining every eye as they tried processing what had happened.

"You can stay," Shepherd offered.

"We're surviving here," the doctor in the back added. "It's better than out there."

"No." Rick shook his head. "And I'm taking anyone back there who wants to leave. If you want to come with us just step forward now."

Only Noah did, walking past both Dawn and Beth's bodies. Rick touched a hand to his shoulder as he continued on toward the very back of Rick's group. Her motherly instinct kicking in, Georgie reached out her hands to Noah and pulled him into a hug. She could tell Beth had been his friend, not just the girl who had helped him initially escape from the hospital.

"I'm sorry," Georgie whispered to him.

"So am I," he replied, grateful for the hug.

They watched as Daryl crouched down, still crying and doing his best to keep his shit together, as he lifted Beth's body up into his arms. Without words, the group turned around and walked away; through the double doors, down the other hallway and then to the stairs they had come up shortly before. Only sniffles and footsteps could be heard as they made their way to the ground floor. Georgie had been bringing up the rear with Noah when they stepped outside.

The sound of a woman screaming in grief rippled through Georgie's bloodstream when she finally saw that it was Maggie, who had dropped to the ground in despair.

The other half of their group was there, too; Glenn, Abraham, Michonne, Tara, Rosita and Gabriel. Georgie assumed Eugene, Carl and Judith were inside the big, bloody firetruck parked outside the gates that hadn't been there when Rick's group had first gone into the hospital.

Daryl brought Beth over toward her sister and everyone just stood there, just as at a loss for words as Rick had been.

Georgie looked up at the sky.

It was a bright, sunny evening out.

How deceptive.