A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.
Sorry I've taken so long to post this chapter. It's been really hard to write Andrea.
Chapter Eighteen-Truth...
Rick didn't believe it when he saw Andrea walking quickly across the field, pushing a walker in front of her like a guard dog. Michonne had said that Andrea was alive but that she was with the Governor. And the Governor was insane. He lowered his gun slightly but was still ready to use it. Daryl didn't drop his weapon at all. His jaw was set, his eyes narrowed. Rick could feel the tension on all sides. This could go bad very quickly.
"Andrea, I think that's close enough." The walker she had on the…leash was really the only word for it…snapped and tried to lunge towards the fence. Andrea struggled to maintain control and looked over her shoulder at the nearby walkers.
"Rick, we need to talk." Daryl snorted.
"You're talkin' now. No one's stoppin' you." Andrea glanced at him and then back to Rick.
"Please Rick. Let me in so we can talk like civilized people." Rick shook his head.
"Civilized? I think the Governor has shown he doesn't want to be civilized with everything he's done." Andrea looked behind her and saw the walkers had finally caught her scent. She reached into her holster, pulled out her gun and shot her walker. Turning, she shot two nearby walkers and ran for the gate.
"Rick! Please!" She was running hard and paused for a second to shoot another walker.
"Ahh shit." Rick ran towards the gate. "Oscar! Let her in!" Rick could hear Daryl running behind him as Oscar opened the gate. Tyreese, Glenn and Carl ran out to take out the walkers near the gate. Andrea made it inside with Tyreese, Glenn and Carl right behind her. Oscar quickly slammed the gate shut. Rick stopped a few feet away, his gun ready. He knew Daryl was behind him with his gun raised as well. Andrea raised her hands, knelt and quickly lay her gun on the ground.
"I'm unarmed ok? I just want to talk." Rick put his gun in his holster and motioned for the guys to stand down.
"So, let's talk." Andrea wiped her forehead.
"Come on Rick. You know me. We've all been through so much. Can't we sit down and figure out what's going on?" Rick glanced over his shoulder at Daryl who shook his head slightly.
"She's not going inside. Not until we know what she's up to." Andrea frowned at him.
"Daryl I'm not 'up to' anything. I just want to work things out so you all and the people in Woodbury aren't shooting each other every other night." When she saw Daryl's eyes narrow, she added "I'm sorry about Merle. He'd really changed over the past few of weeks." Daryl flinched but quickly regained his composure.
"That's not gettin' you inside." Andrea sighed and redirected her attention at Rick.
"Rick, please? Ten minutes. That's all I'm asking for is just ten minutes." Rick glanced around at the rest of the group and relented.
"We can sit over at the table," he said, nodding towards the table in the yard. Andrea smiled, trying to look relaxed.
"Thank you." As they started to walk up the drive, Rick noticed Daryl limping slightly. Running towards the gate must have re-injured his knee.
"Daryl, why don't you go inside and have Hershel check out your knee?" Daryl shook his head.
"I'm fine." Rick stopped him.
"Daryl, c'mon. We've got help now. You don't have to do it all. Go inside and have Hershel check your knee. We just got you up walkin' around again. I don't want you laid up when I need you, got it?" Daryl glanced at Andrea, then back at Rick and nodded. He turned and walked slowly back to the cellblock, obviously in pain. Andrea watched him leave, noticing that Daryl seemed more mellow than he had been on the farm.
"What happened to Daryl's knee?" Rick waited until they reached the table before answering.
"Daryl went out on a run and Merle ambushed him. He got his leg trapped between his motorcycle and the road when he wrecked, messed his knee up pretty good. Between that and the beating he took in Woodbury, he's lucky he wasn't hurt worse." Andrea sat down and Rick sat across from her. "But I'm guessing you're not here to talk about Daryl's bad knee so let's get to the heart of the matter. What does the Governor want?" Andrea was surprised at Rick's bluntness. Daryl obviously wasn't the only one who had changed.
"Rick, the only thing I know is that the Governor thinks you're a military group. He said that two of your people ambushed a supply group from Woodbury, that they captured two of the people who did it and that you all attacked Woodbury to get them out." She looked from Rick over to Glenn. "Now what really happened?" Rick looked over at Carl. Even after everything the boy had seen and done, Rick didn't want him to hear this.
"Carl, go inside." Carl frowned.
"Dad…" Rick snapped his head around and glared at him.
"Carl, go inside now!" Carl rose and stomped into the cellblock. Once he was inside, Glenn spoke up.
"The two people they captured? It was me and Maggie. We went on a run and Merle took us to Woodbury. We didn't attack anyone. Merle attacked us." He motioned to Rick and Oscar. "Rick, Daryl, Oscar…they saved us. The Governor and Merle were going to kill us. Merle set a walker on me and the Governor threatened to rape Maggie." Andrea shook her head.
"He wouldn't do that." Glenn nodded.
"He did. And you don't even know everything else he and his crew did. Not just to Maggie and myself. He's hurt a lot of people." Andrea closed her eyes, refusing to believe it.
"No. He's keeping people safe. He wouldn't have done any of this if he wasn't threatened."
"He is threatened Andrea," Rick said, cutting her off. "We are proof to people in Woodbury that you can live outside those walls and survive. For whatever reason, he sees that as a threat to his power or credibility." Andrea frowned.
"That's just ridiculous." Rick shrugged.
"Ridiculous or not, it's the truth. And I think you know that or you wouldn't have made the trip here to see for yourself." The voice in Andrea's head, the one that told her that the Governor was not everything she wanted to believe, was screaming that Rick was telling the truth. Already, she could see through so many of Phillip's excuses and explanations.
"Well, what about Danielle Robertson?" A throat cleared behind them. The group turned and saw Danielle and Daryl standing a few feet away. Danielle glared at Andrea.
"What about me?"
Sasha jumped when they heard the gunshots.
"What the hell?" She started out the door but Maggie stopped her.
"Wait a second. Those were handguns. Maybe there's a breech in the fence. Just wait a second. Someone'll come in and let us know what's going on." She looked up at the second tier and saw Michonne staring out the window. "Michonne, can you see anything?" Michonne nodded.
"Someone's here. I can't see who it is but it looks like just one person. Rick must know them because he let them in the gate." Maggie turned to Sasha.
"See? They're alright." Sasha didn't look convinced. She frowned and sat back down at the table. Beth brought the baby over and Sasha smiled at her. Judith was so tiny and just a miracle. When she first saw Beth with the baby, she had assumed it was the girl's but quickly learned the truth. Beth looked up at Sasha.
"Do you want to feed her?" Sasha thought a moment and then reached over to take Judith from Beth. The baby wrinkled her forehead and opened her eyes. Sasha knew that this little life was worth fighting for. She finally understood what Tyreese had been trying to explain to her as to why they were staying at the prison. The future was not dead. This little girl was proof of that. She fed the baby and rocked her, humming a lullaby her mother had sung to her. When the door opened, they all turned just as Daryl walked in. Dani stood up.
"Is everything ok?" Daryl didn't look happy but he nodded.
"Andrea's back." Maggie, Beth, Carol and Hershel looked stunned. Michonne quickly walked downstairs.
"She's here? By herself?" Daryl nodded. Sasha looked up from the baby, worry creasing her forehead.
"Is my brother alright?"
"Yeah, he's with Rick." He walked past Hershel towards the cells, obviously limping now.
"Hey Doc, can you check out my knee? I messed it up again." Hershel stood, picked up his crutches and followed Daryl. After watching him leave, it finally dawned on Dani who he was talking about.
"Andrea? You mean from Woodbury? That blonde bitch that done shot at us that's with the Governor? What the hell is she doin' here?" Beth spoke up.
"Maybe she's tryin' to do something good? Maybe she found out about us and decided to come back." Dani frowned.
"Or maybe she's just spyin' on us all so she can go back to the Governor and let him know how many people we got here, what kinda weapons we got and maybe even mess with us." Dani was visibly shaken. Maggie and Carol exchanged a look. After the blow up with Daryl, the topic of Dani's stability had been discussed several times and they both tried to keep an eye on her.
Daryl limped back out of the cell, Hershel behind him. Dani quickly turned her attention back on him.
"Are you ok?" Daryl frowned slightly and ignored her question. She got the hint: he didn't want to talk about it right now. She heard Maggie explaining to Sasha, Axel and Allen about Andrea and then heard the door slam. When Carl stomped in, obviously not happy, Daryl called him over.
"What's goin' on out there?" Carl shrugged.
"Andrea's wants to talk to Dad about Woodbury and about what happened to Glenn and Maggie." Danielle looked over at Daryl.
"I'm goin' out there. I want to hear what that woman has to say about that town." Daryl nodded and the two of them walked outside. She could hear Andrea denying some comment Rick made about the Governor. Then, she heard her name mentioned.
"Well, what about Danielle Robertson?" Danielle crossed her arms and cleared her throat. When the group turned in her direction, she thought she saw Andrea go pale.
"What about me?" She walked closer to the table, eyeballing Andrea. Andrea swallowed hard.
"Were you taken prisoner the night your daughter died?" The question so shocked Danielle, she actually laughed.
"What do you mean, taken prisoner? By who? Rick and Daryl?" Andrea nodded. "Hell no. I left Woodbury on my own, running as fast as I could that night." She motioned to the group at the table. "They all took me in. Where'd you get the story I was taken prisoner?"
"The Governor has been telling people that you were kidnapped the night of the first raid and that they had brainwashed you into hating him." Danielle fought the urge to laugh again.
"No, they didn't have to brainwash me into hating anyone. I hated the Governor when he demanded sex in exchange for medicine for Abigail right after she got sick. I wanted to kill him the moment I found out he had sentenced my little girl to die with that phony medicine he and Milton made her take." Andrea's eyes widened in shock. She quickly shook her head.
"No. He wouldn't do that. He had a daughter. Why would he kill yours?" Danielle leaned on the table, a little surprised that neither Daryl nor Rick made a move to stop her from getting too close to Andrea.
"Milton wanted to experiment on her. He wanted to see how the virus affected children so they could work on a cure." The voice of doubt in Andrea's head started ringing a bell. Penny. If this was true, could the Governor have had Milton experiment on another child to try to save his daughter? Danielle saw that Andrea was slowly starting to believe her and continued.
"And as if that wasn't bad enough, I was raped by Cash, Tripp and some of the others. That's why Glenn and Maggie were able to get out. The guards were busy. Merle broke it up but only because he was so pissed that they let their prisoners get away. I blacked out but found out later that your friend Michonne got me free. That's how she was taken prisoner, by helping me. I ran later than night, after Abigail had died." She glared at Andrea. "Any of this sinkin' in honey? Or do you think your man is still this big hero?"
"I admit," Andrea spoke slowly, carefully. "that I may have been too quick to accept Woodbury at face value. Obviously, something is going on there that's wrong. But I still don't understand why we can't settle this…turf issue." Danielle laughed.
"I ain't listenin' to this shit anymore." She backed away. "Seriously honey, you want to be delusional, you go right ahead. I know you were spending your nights in his bed but trust me, you weren't the only one so don't think you're so special." Danielle turned and walked back to the cellblock, calling over her shoulder to Rick "Maybe you can talk some sense into her." Daryl exchanged a look with Rick, nodded, and turned to follow Danielle inside. Rick turned his attention back to Andrea.
"Do you think she was brainwashed into thinking all that happened? She didn't tell you how the Governor sent Merle here with Abigail, as a walker, to torment her and Merle shot Abigail in front of Danielle. It almost killed her. If Daryl hadn't been there for her I think it would have." Andrea's eyes widened.
"You don't mean to tell me that Danielle and Daryl.." Tyreese cut her off.
"Don't change the subject. You keep sayin' you want to stop the fighting but all you've done so far is try to defend this Governor. Now I may be new here, but these people" Tyreese motioned to Rick and Glenn, "you all were obviously friends. I guess I'm not understandin' why you don't want to believe what they're sayin'." Andrea turned on him.
"Because I don't see the Governor the same way as you do, alright? It's safe in Woodbury. The Governor keeps us all safe. Walkers can't get in. People have food, clean water, a warm place to sleep at night. Kids ride their bikes down the street and go to school. We have a doctor and medicine. Hell, they even have pets there. In this world, it's the garden of Eden." Tyreese nodded.
"True. But even the garden of Eden had a snake slitherin' around."
Walking back into the prison, Dani headed back towards the other holding cell where they had first put her when she arrived. She needed to get herself back in control before she saw everyone else. "This is why I don't like to talk about it," Dani said as she sat on the floor, her hands shaking uncontrollably. Daryl knelt down in front of her.
"You're alright. Nothin's gonna happen to you. I told you that." Dani looked up at him, her eyes fearful.
"He's coming here. You don't know the weapons that he was. He's got tanks, rocket launchers and lord knows what else. He could level this place if he wanted to. Then what happens?" Daryl sat next to her.
"If something happens, we'll get everyone out. We can take off through the woods, probably get our hands on another truck. And we'll head out West towards the Gulf. Maybe try to find your family and build another place. We made it before, we can do it again. We'll just put as much distance between us and Woodbury as possible." Dani looked over at him.
"You'll be out there fighting him. I know you. You won't leave Rick's side. Don't tell me that he didn't have to force you to come back inside when he saw you were hurt again. That's what scares me. I'm not worried about somethin' happening to me. I'm worried the Governor's gonna kill you Daryl." Daryl reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw. The look he gave her quashed the fear she had and brought the desire back up to the surface. This is definitely not the time for that she told herself. Noticing her expression change, Daryl sat back against the wall.
"What do you want?" His voice was low and barely over a whisper. He felt it too, she could tell. He had the same look on his face she had seen in the moonlight when they made love in the courtyard. He probably wouldn't protest too much if she made the first move but she wasn't going to, not yet. Instead, she shook her head.
"Nothing that can be done right now. Later maybe, but now is definitely not the time or the place." He smirked at her.
"You've got a one track mind." He stood and helped her to her feet. Dani wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight.
"I need you to stay alive Daryl Dixon. I can't lose you too." Daryl pulled back slightly to look her in the eye.
"Don't worry about me, alright?" Dani nodded. Together, they rejoined the group and Dani was surprised to see Andrea sitting at the table with Rick and Carol.