A Job, A Purpose

Andy spent her first forty-eight hours inside the Prison holed up inside of her new room ( It's a cell, let's just make that very clear to ourselves. She thought when Rick had shown her and the girls into C-Block.) reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to Nina and Izzy. The very first twenty-four was spent pacing up and down the small cell while Nina and Izzy slept or played with a set of small wooden horses Andy made out of driftwood, the woman unable to bring herself to sleep after spending so much time on her own taking care of two girls and a dog for the last two years. After almost thirty hours of absolutely zero sleep and wound tighter than a drum, she finally allowed herself to lay down for a quick power nap, only to wake up later groggy and completely unaware of her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that Nina, Izzy, and Brego were missing.

Andy shot right out of bed, banging her head harshly on the top bunk before dropping down on her knees to look under the bed. When she didn't find either girl in her cell, she ripped open the door and began looking in every cell in C-Block, startling a girl holding a baby quite a bit before she was able to string enough words together to form a slightly coherent sentence.

"Nina – Izzy – missing – gotta find them..." the girl only looked at Andy blankly, in a sort of deer in the headlights expression. Too much in a hurry to try to explain what she was talking about, she turned and streaked out of C-Block and out a series of hallways and doors to where she remembered the main exit being. The door slammed open so suddenly the bang of metal hitting brick made Andy's ears ring, but she managed to jump the seven steps from the door to the ground and round the railing, ignoring the bite the gravel had on her bare feet. She went to shout, but the names of her nieces died on her lips when she saw what they were doing.

Andy had initially expected Duds to be eating their faces, or the new people of the prison using them as bait to draw a swarm away, but was not expecting the two girls to be weaving together a crown out of wild flowers and grass with three other girls. Brego was laying down in the grass of the fenced in courtyard of the prison with the kids, eyes closed and tongue lolling out in content as the five placed the crowns and wreathes on his head and around his neck. She could see another boy standing at some sort of awning with a short haired woman and a large black man. People were milling about the courtyard, talking or doing some sort of chore while the day was still nice. Andy ignored the question an Asian kid and a girl had been trying to ask her and stumbled toward Nina and Izzy, feeling her throat tighten in pure joy at seeing them be kids again.

The girls looked up just as Andy was passing though the slightly open gate and immediately jumped up, running to her and yelling something about making new friends. Brego was trotting after them, woofing excitedly at seeing his master up and around again. Andy dropped to her knees and glanced at the flower crowns for a moment before pulling both girls into a tight hug, laughing when they both exclaimed that she was hugging them too tightly.

"I'm sorry, babies, I'm sorry. You made new friends, huh? Did they help you make these?" Nina nodded her head excitedly, pushing her wild hair out of her face with a dirty hand, only adding to the ever present food and dirt stains that stayed on her face no matter how much Andy washed it.

"Yeah, we made these. Our friends – I forgot their names but that's okay – helped make necklaces out of grass for Brego. And look! Izzy and I made this one for you because we knew you wanted one." Nina pushed the necklace onto Andy's head and around her neck, having only a tiny bit of trouble getting it passed her mane of eternally messy hair.

"No, Auntie, you have to put it like this, not over your hair like that." Izzy chided, showing her the proper way to wear a necklace made out of crab grass and dandelions (Which so happened to be over the top of your head and under your hair like a tiara, in case you were wondering).

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll fix it right away." she said, pulling her hair out from under the makeshift tiara and letting it rest on her chest like the necklace she thought it was instead of on top of her head. She felt a few tears leak out from her eyes and quickly wiped them away, but not before Nina saw them.

"Auntie, why are you cryin'? Are you sad?" Andy laughed and shook her head, pulling both girls (and Brego) into another hug, patting Nina's hair down gently.

"No, baby. I'm just glad you two made some friends is all." Movement out of the corner of Andy's eye caught her attention and she glanced to her right to see Rick walking over, stuffing a pair of work gloves into his back pocket.

"Why don't you girls go play some more? I'll be over in just a minute." she said, watching as they skipped back over to their new found friends. She stayed kneeling in the grass for a few more moments, even after Rick had come to a stop several paces away from her. It took her almost another minute to pry her eyes away from Nina and Izzy before turning to Rick.

"Glad to see you up and about." he began, his hands resting on his hips. "You slept for damn near twenty hours. Took Carl and Beth almost an hour to coax those girls and the dog out of your cell to give you space to rest up." Andy looked at him, surprise written all over her face.

"Did I really sleep for that long?" Rick nodded. "Jesus Christ. If I didn't feel so stiff I'd be tempted to call you a liar."

"You must have really needed it." Rick laughed, the pair lapsing into a short silence as they watched Nina and Izzy play with the three girls Andy didn't know the names of quite yet.

"How long were you out there for?" he asked at length.

Andy shrugged.

"Since the beginning. Started out with their parents – my brother and his wife, actually – my mom, and my younger siblings. Been on the road looking for some place to be since everything happened."

"It's just you guys now?" Rick asked, a knowing, haunted look in his eyes that told Andy that he had lost much of his original group as well. Andy nodded her head, breathing deeply though her nose.

"Yep. We lost my mom about two months in saving those two from Duds in Oklahoma. My brother and sister-in-law in Mississippi. I had another brother and a sister, but we got separated in Atlanta. We had plans to meet up just south if things went bad, but they never showed. I waited almost a week for them, but I had those two and it was getting too dangerous to stay any longer, so we left."

"Sorry to hear that."

Andy shrugged again, subconsciously going to nibble on the back of piercings that weren't in her bottom lip anymore. She chose to pick at the scabbing skin at the corner of her mouth instead where she split it getting hit in the face by the handle of her knife after a run-in with a Dud several days prior.

"How long have ya'll been here? Looks like you've got a pretty good set up." she commented, changing the subject. Rick nodded and looked around, pride showing plainly on his face.

"Yeah, we do. We found it at the end of last winter, just before spring. The place was overrun, but we cleared it and got it fortified. Walkers used to find their way into the tombs every so often, but we've got everything under control now."

Rick then took the time to show Andy around, since she had immediately taken to her cell upon arrival and missed out on the tour. He introduced her to Carol who generally managed the kitchen and food prep area under the awning with a boy named Patrick, who was asking about Daryl and if Rick knew when he was going to be back from some sort of trip. She also met Glenn and Maggie (who had been the pair that tried asking her if she was alright when she practically busted out of the prison in search of her nieces,) as well as Herschel, Beth, Judith, Ricky, Karen and a dozen other people Andy couldn't remember the names of.

"We'll let you rest up a few more days, get used to the place and then you'll be assigned a job. Carol also helps with the kids, so Nina and Izzy will be well looked after when you're working."

Andy nodded her head and shook Rick's hand once more, thanking him profusely.

"Thank you, Rick. You have no idea how much it means to me that you took us in." Andy said gratefully. Rick glanced down into the field at a young boy wearing a wide brimmed hat who was currently leaning over a short wooden fence near a squat shed.

"No, I think I do know." He said, a look of pure love only a parent would have for a child shining from those intensely blue eyes of his.

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On Andy's fifth day, she woke up before most anyone else in the Prison and lazed about in her cell, reading for the sixteenth time since everything happened the eighth chapter of Harry Potter, feeling as her nieces shifted and snuggled up on either side of their aunt as they slept. With the help of Glenn, she was able to take apart her bunk and push the two beds together to form one large one, using the two original mattress pads and several quilts made out of scraps of other blankets to make it comfortable enough for all four of them to sleep on together. Brego always slept at the foot of the bed with his head pointed toward the cell door, at the ready should anyone unwanted came barging into the room that held his master and her pups.

Andy roused Nina and Izzy when she finished the chapter, taking their bag of toiletries to the showers to get ready for the day. She made the girls brush their teeth with the tooth brushes that a woman named Sasha had provided them on their first day and braided their wild hair out of their faces as to not get it dirty while they played. Andy let the girls play outside in the courtyard and set out in search of Rick, intent on being assigned a job so she could begin earning her keep.

"I'm not really in charge of giving anyone jobs anymore – it's up to the Council – but for today I'll stick you on fence duty." He said, resting his arms on a shovel he was using to dig troughs in the garden. Probably to better irrigate the tomatoes growing there, Andy thought. "Glenn, Sasha, and Daryl are on a run right now, but should be back in a day or two and then you can meet with them, Herschel and Carol to get you something a little more permanent."

Rick pointed to the small group of people heading to the outer ring of the fence near the tower.

"Go catch up and talk with Karen. She's in charge of the fences, she'll get you set up." Andy thanked him and told her nieces to stay within the courtyard and not to go near the fences before she jogged over to the group that had fence duty, calling for Karen and seeing a woman a few years older than her lift her head.

Karen was nice, with olive skin and wild, curly hair that was just about two curls away from rivaling Andy's own. Karen showed her the ropes, telling her how important it was that the Walkers didn't stay grouped around one certain area of the fences for too long so they wouldn't pull them down and infest the courtyard. The work was more exhausting than Andy thought it would be, and the burn in her biceps, back, and abdomen told her she should start working out more.

Several people tried asking her what she had been going since 'it' happened, but Andy shied away from their questions, not really knowing how to speak to anyone over the age of ten. Many of the fence-pokers nodded in understanding, knowing that it was hard to get acclimated to 'civilized life' again after so long facing death at every waking moment, but there were a small few that grumbled about Andy being a bitch under their breath. Andy didn't pay any attention to these people, but when a tall blonde man named Lyall began loudly announcing that the newbies should show more respect toward the ones that had been there longer, Andy was about ready to snap and break his fucking neck.

Karen picked up on Andy's shift in mood quickly and showed no remorse when she snapped the back of her cane against his legs, making him stumble and let out a sting of curses.

"Shut up, Lyall. Nobody cares how short or long anyone has been here. Leave her be." She then gave him 'the look' (You know, the one your mom gives you when you're about to do something you shouldn't?) and he clenched his jaw, a vein ticking in his temple when several people chuckled at the reprimand he received. Andy rolled her eyes at him, working her jaw as she fought not to say anything so she could finish out the rest of her 'shift' without adding 'Stuck-up prick' to the list of things she'd killed.

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Daryl, Glenn, and Sasha returned from their run in the late evening with two new people; a teen named Neil and a man who called himself Oxy that Andy could have sworn was actually Mark Hoppus from Blink-182. Andy was sitting on a set of bleachers in the courtyard with Nina and Izzy, tossing a ball for Brego who cased after it as if he had never been played with before. When Andy saw that they had quite a bit to carry back inside, she ordered the girls to stay and play so she could go and help, sidling up a little awkwardly to Sasha, who turned with a curious look on her face.

"Uh, hey, I'm Andy. Need some help?" she offered, holding out her hands and avoiding Sasha's gaze. Sasha studied her a moment before she practically dropped a large plastic bin full of canned food in her waiting arms.

"Totes of food go in the cafeteria, Medical supplies to Herschel and ammo to the armory." was all she said, but Andy grinned all the same, finally feeling like she was contributing to the compound in some type of way. Rick spoke with the three as soon as he got wind of the fact that they were back, and Glenn came up to her with the promise that the Council would meet with her first thing in the morning to see where they would put her to work at.

She met with the Council members in the library the next morning, feeling very much like she was in a job interview. They asked her the standard questions, "What did you do before all this?" "What are you good at?" "How's your aim?" and even a few off the wall ones, such as if she could sew, or how her gardening was.

"Well, uh, I was a practicing nurse before everything happened, so I'm good at that I guess..." Andy felt her words die in her throat at their closed off expressions, not liking the fact that she couldn't tell what each of them were thinking. Andy felt wound up tighter than her bow string, and fidgeted with the rips in the holes of her knees, feeling anxiety well in her chest and lodge itself in her throat.

"I grew up on a res in Oklahoma with my dad until I was nineteen, so I know a lot about hunting and tracking." Daryl glanced at her out of the corner of his eye at this, and it seemed to peak Carol's interest as well, spurring Andy to continue. "I could tell you which plants you can eat and what ones would kill you before you even walked away from it. When I was out there, I used my nursing knowledge and the skills my dad taught me to save mine and my girls' asses more times than I can count." Andy scratched the side of her face and shifted her gaze to an odd stain on the floor.

"I really want to contribute, so I'll take whatever ya'll can give me. Fences, guard duty, farming... I'll do all of it. I owe you guys my life." Andy looked up and stared into their eyes, each one in turn. "You guys saved my entire world." She met eyes with Daryl, who seemed to know that she wasn't talking about her self at this point. Herschel smiled at her, his mouth moving under his snowy white beard.

"It'll be great to have a nurse to go with the doctor and the veterinarian." He laughed, earning a chuckle from Glenn and a roll of Sasha's eyes, although the small smile she had betrayed any semblance of the 'don't fuck with me' front she was trying to show. "We'll talk it over and get back with you before lunch." he said, prompting Andy to nod her head and stand up so fast she almost knocked her chair into the bookshelf behind her.

Andy soon found herself in the middle of the courtyard with Nina and Izzy, watching Brego sniff at the pen with the pigs while she braided flowers and clovers in her nieces hair. She was nervous of the outcome of the Council's decision, and hoped they didn't decide that she was too skiddish and unfriendly with the other residents to allow her to do much of anything around the prison.

Herschel came to her cell while Nina and Izzy were taking a nap, cuddled around their aunt as she read a book she got from the library. She would have sat bolt upright if it weren't for Nina being draped across her chest, and carefully moved the sleeping girl to speak with Herschel outside of the cell. He greeted her warmly, and he greatly reminded her of her grandfather.

"Daryl told us about your first meeting with he and Rick. Particularly the part where he didn't hear you coming until you had a bow two inches from his face." He began, hooking his fingers behind his suspenders. Andy scratched the side of her face bashfully. "Glenn wants you for runs, and I agree. It would be good to have someone with medical knowledge to go with the groups on their runs to administer first aid if it was needed." Andy felt her heart soar at this news, but also felt a tingle of apprehension. Going on runs meant she would more than likely be leaving her nieces behind for several days at a time, but squashed the feelings down to deal with later.

"For the time being, you'll be with myself and Doctor S so we can see how good a nurse you really are." Herschel winked playfully, letting her know that this was just a precaution, wanting to assess her knowledge before they actually sent her into the field with the others. Andy nodded her head, understanding completely.

"Yep, I get it." She said, not being able to hide the wide grin on her face. Herschel smiled as well, resting his hand on her shoulder. Andy was proud that the action didn't make her flinch like it usually did.

"You'll start tomorrow, bright and early. Meet me in the courtyard and we'll get through the basics." He said. Andy grinned and saluted him, watching his back as he walked away. Andy noticed that he limped on one leg, and wondered if he hurt it before or after everything happened.

She figured she could ask him about it tomorrow.