Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.
It had taken almost a week for Chelsea to heal enough to be able to move around unassisted and another three before Miles agreed to allow her to accompany him on a supply run across town. She'd been shocked to learn that he left Natalie by herself when he went out, but then she'd seen the room he'd created for her and she understood completely. Outside he'd have to be constantly on alert if she was with him, but behind those four walls she was perfectly safe. The dead would be kept at bay by the wood spikes and barbed wire, and the living would find quite a few surprises of their own if they came within twenty feet of the place.
Because she'd been on bed rest so long Chelsea found herself easily winded, and even some of her more basic fighting techniques were nearly impossible for her. Thankfully Miles was there to step in whenever she got in over her head, though she was beginning to think he took some sort of sick pleasure in watching her struggle with the damn walkers they kept running into.
About a month and a half after her near brush with death, the three of them were sitting in the living room of the house Miles had commandeered a year ago when Chelsea decided to bring up the subject of Alexandria.
"You know, I've been thinking," she began, kicking Miles' shin under the table when he opened his mouth to make some smartass comment. "How would you two like to come back with me?"
"Back where?" Natalie asked around her mouthful of noodles. "To grandma and grandpa's?"
"No, someplace else," Chelsea replied with a shake of her head. "I ran into a group of people on my way here and they live in a secure, walled community. They've got power, water, food . . . everything you could possibly need."
Miles was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you think we can trust them?" Truthfully he didn't want to give up the house he'd spent so long fortifying, but he'd begun running out of places to raid for supplies and at best they had another couple months before they'd have to move on to somewhere new so it couldn't hurt to hear her out.
"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted with a shrug. "From what I could tell there were two separate groups living there, and while one of them owes me for saving two of their own, the rest of them are another matter entirely."
"I say we go," Natalie chimed in. "We could use some more friends."
With a smile Miles pointed at his daughter's empty plate with his fork and said, "And I think it's your turn to wash the dishes." When she groaned he raised an eyebrow and added, "You can either do the dishes now or I'll have you help do the laundry tomorrow."
Making a sound of disgust she hopped down from her seat and grabbed her plate. "Yucky, I'll take the dishes."
"I thought you might."
When she walked into the kitchen Chelsea turned to him with a look of horror on her face. "Please tell me you don't make her touch your dirty clothes. The poor girl would die from the stench in seconds."
"Of course not, but the threat of it works like a charm."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, choosing to finish their food before continuing their conversation. As soon as his plate was empty, Miles leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "So tell me about this place. Is it really worth checking out?"
Chelsea wasn't blind; she'd seen the limited supplies left around the place. She'd also noticed how far out they'd had to go before finding anything of use the last couple of times they went on runs. It was nearing time for them to move on and while she didn't know all that much about Alexandria she knew enough to make it very appealing. "In my opinion, yes. The place is secure, with high metal walls all around the complex and a gate that's always being watched. On the inside they've got quite a few houses for people to live in and each one has running water and power. You have no idea how good it felt to take a hot shower, and I know you've missed electricity since you burned through my mp3 player's battery in less than a day."
He at least had the decency to look guilty at that and she shook her head good-naturedly before continuing. "The only problem with the place is the people. That many strangers means plenty of things can go wrong; the question is do you think it's worth the risk?"
"Tell me about these two groups."
"I only actually met with the one group, well six of them anyway. I know they have at least one more, but I'm guessing that's not all. They're close, like family, and were together long before they ended up there. The others kept to themselves, but I could see they were wary of the people I was with. If I had to guess, they're probably just scared. I doubt many of the others have done much outside the walls."
"So there are survivors and hiders living together in the same place? I don't know, seems like an accident waiting to happen."
"Maybe, but you should wait to make a decision until you've seen the place."
Miles raised an eyebrow at that. "You seem to think it's already been decided. I never said we were going to go."
"Of course you didn't," Chelsea said waving her hand dismissively. "I think I'm going to head to bed early. We've got a busy couple of days ahead of us to get ready for the trip."
"I never agreed to go with you," he called after her as she made her way towards the stairs. Shaking his head, Miles looked around the place he'd been calling home for awhile now and found he didn't really mind the thought of leaving. Not that it mattered, there was no way he was going to allow his sister to go off and leave them alone. Those girls were the only family he had left and they were going to stick together no matter what.
ooooo
It only took them about a day to get everything ready and loaded into a working van they'd stumbled across a month back and they soon found themselves on the road headed back towards Alexandria.
They ran out of gas about ten miles out and had to ditch the vehicle on the side of the road and continue on foot which meant they'd had to leave some of their supplies as they could only carry so much between them, but Chelsea was certain that even if they chose not to stick around they'd be able to pick up whatever they needed before heading off in search of another place to stay.
After a few hours of walking Miles called for a break so Natalie could rest and they all huddled around the base of a large oak tree while eating some leftover noodles. That was when the first walker appeared.
Chelsea had been a little worried that all that time spent inside had dulled her senses, but even with the murmured conversation going on around her she still managed to hear the tell-tale sound of something making its way towards them. Jumping to her feet she spun in a circle as she tried to locate where the sound was coming from.
When Natalie opened her mouth to ask what was going on Miles covered it with his hand and shook his head sharply. Slowly getting to his feet he pulled his gun out of the back of his pants and shifted so that his daughter was between him and Chelsea as he joined her in searching for danger.
It took a few passes but Chelsea finally spotted her target a couple hundred feet away and she waited with bated breath to see what it would do. When it kept on walking she nearly released the breath she'd been holding, that is until she saw the horde that followed.
"Run!" she cried as she grabbed Natalie's hand and took off in the opposite direction of the walkers with Miles hot on her heels. Ducking beneath a branch she bit her lip as her side began to ache and she gratefully released her niece's hand when Miles pulled the little girl closer to him.
"Which way?" Miles demanded as they continued to race through the trees. "I mean we've got to be close to this place, right?"
Sidestepping a walker that had appeared out of nowhere, Chelsea dropped it with a kick to the back of the knee and stomped on its head. Sliding one of her machetes free she jammed it into its skull just to be on the safe side before running to catch up with the others.
"A few miles that way I think, maybe more," she replied as she attempted to regulate her breathing. When Miles lifted a sniffling Natalie into his arms, she hoped to god they were closer.
Two walkers in front of them dropped to the ground with bullets in their brains courtesy of some well placed shots from Miles, but it seemed like the farther they ran the more walkers appeared and they were quickly becoming surrounded.
Slicing through the heads of three of the walkers closest to her Chelsea felt the fighting taking its toll on her body. Despite all the rehab she'd done she was nowhere near healed and she knew she wasn't going to last much longer. "Take Natalie and go, I'll draw them away," she ordered as she took out another two and heard four more shots ring out behind her.
"Like hell I'm going to leave you here to die!" Miles snapped as he took down another one.
Chelsea shook her head. "If you stay we'll all die, at least this way you two will have a chance to survive. You know I'm right so don't bother arguing with me. Just get that precious little niece of mine to safety."
Looking at his sister who was struggling to stay upright Miles choked back a sob. "Thank you."
"Don't just stand there, get moving!"
Turning around he took off running and a short time later one of the dead near him drop to the ground with an arrow sticking out of its head. At first he thought it was Chelsea clearing a path for them, but then he realized that she'd left her bow back at the tree so that wasn't possible. Another corpse hit the ground and this time he caught a glimpse of the one firing the shots and he found himself torn between being thankful for the help and being terrified of what the unknown man would want for it.
Deciding he could deal with any demands later he gave the man a nod before lifting Natalie up and helping her climb into a nearby tree. "Daddy has to go help aunt Chelsea so I want you to climb up to that branch up there, stay put and be very quiet. Can you do that?" Seeing her nod he turned around and ran back to help take out the remainder of the dead.
The three of them, plus another man who'd shown up a short time later dealt with the last thirty or so walkers and Miles wrapped an arm around Chelsea's waist to help support her when she began to collapse.
"I thought I told you to run," she said through clenched teeth. "And where's Natalie?"
"I did, but then those two showed up and I figured I couldn't let them take all the glory for saving your sorry ass," Miles replied with a grin. "And Nat's fine, I left her in that tree over there," he finished, pointing at the little girl who was clinging to the tree while watching them intently.
Turning to face the other two men Chelsea stared in shock at the familiar face before her. "Well I'll be damned, it's hunter boy. You out here looking for another rabbit for that stew of yours?" she asked, somehow managing to smirk despite the pain wracking her body.
". . . Chelsea?"
ooooo
Daryl had gone out with Aaron earlier that day in search of more survivors, but the trip had been a total bust. Not only did they see no signs of life, but they'd had to leave the car a few miles down the road when the engine overheated. Thankfully they hadn't had to deal with any walkers, but that was the only upside to the day as far as he was concerned.
Since the car was no longer an option they'd begun the several mile trek back to Alexandria on foot and had been a little less than a mile out when the sound of gunfire rang out close by. They'd hesitated for less than a second before taking off towards the sound.
When they got closer it became obvious that whoever it was was in serious trouble. There were at least three dozen walkers closing in around them. Taking out one of the walkers closest to him, Daryl motioned for Aaron to go around and come in from the other side in hopes of splitting the dead into slightly more manageable groups.
Seeing Aaron nod and take off, Daryl returned his focus to the walkers near him in time to see a man running towards him with a little girl in his arms and he quickly let an arrow fly. The next arrow was locked in place by the time the first walker went down and he took the one next to it out a few seconds later.
He was about to ask if the guy was okay when he noticed there was a woman being swarmed farther back and he immediately turned in her direction. Making quick work of four of the walkers on the outer ring he dropped his crossbow to the ground once he ran out of arrows and pulled out his knife.
Three more went down soon after but it was becoming apparent that he wasn't going to make it to her in time. There were simply too many of them and even with Aaron's help they just weren't killing them fast enough. Ramming his knife into the skull of a walker on his left he swore under his breath as he finally lost sight of the woman.
All but giving up on any chance of getting to her before she was overrun, Daryl's eyes widened when a dark blur rushed past him and dove headfirst into the fray. He hadn't expected the man to come back, not since he'd been carrying a child, but it seemed he wasn't willing to let the woman die. Shaking his head, it was rare to find someone willing to do that for another person these days, he got back to work.
With the added help of the man, and the fact that Aaron had finally managed to make his way closer towards the center of the fight, the last of the walkers were soon on the ground and Daryl wiped his knife clean on a walker's pant leg as he took a moment to catch his breath. Watching as the man wrapped an arm around the woman's waist he was about to head back to collect his bow and arrows when he heard the same voice he'd been unable to get out of his head the past few months.
With a dumbfounded look on his face Daryl managed to get her name out before words left him completely and he stood there looking like an idiot.
"You know this guy?" Miles asked as he helped Chelsea over to a tree so she could use it for support.
"Sort of. He belongs to that 'family' I mentioned." Leaning her back against the tree she closed her eyes briefly and wrapped an arm around her side as she attempted to work through the pain.
Looking between her and the other two men he hesitated before asking, "You okay here?"
"I'm fine, go get Natalie out of that tree before she decides to jump down herself."
"My baby girl would never do something so dangerous, she's a perfect little angel," Miles said with a snort as he turned to leave.
"You mean like me?" Laughing when he flipped her off over his shoulder, Chelsea looked over at Daryl and the man with short brown hair who was standing next to him. "So, hunter boy, you gonna introduce us or would you rather continue standing there gaping like a fish?"
Before he had a chance to respond Aaron spoke up. "Are you the Chelsea?" he asked curiously, and then seeing her confused look added, "You know, the one he walked in on?"
"Wow, word sure gets around that community of yours doesn't it. And here I thought the days of rumors and gossip were over."
Miles, who had come walking back over in time to hear the end of what she'd said rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me, shi- . . . I mean stuff like that is what keeps everyone sane in this crazy messed up world."
"How true," Aaron agreed with a nod.
"Okay, now you've got me curious. Just what is this juicy little tidbit of yours?" Miles couldn't help but ask.
"Word around Alexandria is that Daryl here snuck a peek at Chelsea. We teased him for weeks about it just so we could watch his face turn this adorable shade of red." Glancing over at said man Aaron pointed at his face with a grin. "And there it is now."
Narrowing his eyes, Daryl found himself wondering how much trouble he'd get into if he went back without Aaron and his big mouth. Couldn't the man see how protective they were of each other? It was obvious in the way the man had jumped in to save her earlier. But no, Aaron had to go and be oblivious about things and now Daryl was being glared at by a very pissed off guy who just so happened to be carrying a gun. Yeah, this day just went from bad to worse.
Figuring he'd better do something to defuse the situation before it got ugly he quickly piped in with, "It ain't like that. I was just bringin' her some clothes. Didn't know she was a woman or I'd a knocked first."
"So it was an accident then?" Seeing the other man nod Miles' anger vanished only to be replaced by a pout. "Damn, and here I thought I'd finally get the chance to defend the honor of a poor, defenseless damsel. How disappointing. Oh wait, you're no damsel you're a demon so it wouldn't have earned me points anyway."
Chelsea raised an eyebrow at him before saying, "A demon am I? You say the nicest things sometimes."
"Only the best for my favorite sister."
"I'm your only sister dumbass."
"Oooh, auntie Chelsea said a bad word!" Natalie said as she pointed a finger at her. "That means you have to do the dishes tonight!"
Ignoring Miles who was sticking his tongue out at her because she got caught, Chelsea rolled her eyes. "You're right, my bad."
Daryl watched the display in front of him with a mixture of humor and disbelief. Sure it was entertaining watching the two bicker, but how anyone could do that minutes after taking down a large group of walkers was beyond him. Everyone he knew either became somber or had a killing high so the joking around was unexpected to say the least.
When the siblings began to toss childish insults back and forth he shook his head. He was beginning to think they needed some serious help.
"Hey mister, what happened to your sleeves?"
He'd been so focused on watching the two in front of him he hadn't noticed that the little girl had come over to stand next to him and he looked down at her bewildered. "My what?"
"You know, the sleeves on your shirt. What happened to them? Did they get pulled off by the evil ones?"
Figuring she was referring to the walkers Daryl shook his head. "Nah, this shirt don't have sleeves."
Cocking her head cutely, Natalie pursed her lips in thought. "Why not? Did they run out of material when they were making it?"
"Nat, are you bothering the man who was nice enough to come to your auntie's rescue?" Miles asked after sticking his tongue out at Chelsea one final time.
"I'm just asking him a question."
"Is that so? Well seeing as your aunt is about two seconds away from passing out how about you keep your questions to yourself until we get her someplace safe. Can you do that?" Patting her on the head affectionately when she nodded, Miles walked back over to Chelsea and pulled her arm over his shoulder so she could lean against him.
Realizing there was no way he was going to be able to hold up Chelsea, keep tabs on Natalie and carry all their things, he turned a questioning gaze towards the other two men. "So, uh . . . wait, I don't even know your names."
"That's hunter boy," Chelsea began, pointing her finger in Daryl's direction. "And that's hunter boy's friend. Now that you know their names can we please get to a bed before I collapse? Unless you like the idea of having to carry me the rest of the way there."
Giving her a look that clearly said 'hell no', Miles shook his head. "Yeah . . . no."
Smiling at the pair Aaron introduced himself. "My name is Aaron and this is Daryl, it's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Miles and the adorable little angel holding onto my leg is Natalie."
"I'm four and a half and I like stories, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and my auntie Chelsea," Natalie said with a small wave.
"Hey, what about me?" Miles asked with a pout.
"Oh, and horses too."
Chelsea snickered at the look on Miles' face but it quickly turned into a pained hiss. "Okay, introductions are done. Time to go."
Looking from Chelsea to Natalie and then behind them to where they'd left their things, Miles decided to forgo grabbing their stuff. They could always come back and get it later . . . hopefully.
Grabbing Natalie's hand he shifted Chelsea tighter against his side while saying, "So, care to lead the way to this wonderful place of yours."
Daryl stepped over a walker and headed back in the direction they'd come from. "You take 'em Aaron, I'll catch up after I get my shit."
"Alright," Aaron agreed. "Well everyone, this way please."
Watching them walk off through the trees, Daryl went around and collected his arrows before heading in the direction Miles had looked earlier. It wasn't hard to figure out what the other man had been thinking and he figured he may as well pick up their gear and bring it back for them.
A little voice inside his head, which sounded suspiciously like Carol, said he was only doing it to earn points with Chelsea and he promptly told it to shut the hell up. He was helping the family out that was it. It's not like he was trying to get on her good side or anything.
Ignoring the voice which had begun laughing at him, he loaded himself up once he'd found their things and started making his way back towards Alexandria.
ooooo
"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you and your daughter been out here Miles?" Aaron asked curiously as they made their way through the trees.
"This is our first trip since all this began. I found a nice place a few months after things got bad and Nat and I were there until yesterday when my crazy sister convinced us to head out to Alexandria. And wouldn't you know it, she goes and gets herself beat all to hell before we even arrive. She's such a handful, it's a wonder I can put up with her."
"You do know I can hear you," Chelsea ground out, leaning even more heavily on him the farther they walked.
Grinning, Miles bobbed his head up and down cheerfully. "Of course. It wouldn't be fun otherwise."
Rolling her eyes Chelsea glanced over at Aaron. "How much longer?"
"Not long, we should be able to see the walls . . . ah, there we are," he replied, pointing at the edge of the tree line. "There it is, that's Alexandria."
Now that they could see it they all began to walk a little faster and it took them less than ten minutes to get to the entrance. When they were within shouting distance Aaron called out to the person on the other side and the gate was open by the time they reached it.
"Hey Aaron, where's the car? Daryl got it somewhere?" the man asked as he allowed them to enter before pushing the gate closed.
"No, it conked out on the road a few miles back and we had to leave it. Daryl should be right behind us though, he just had to grab his stuff. We ran into a large pack of walkers out there trying to get to these guys and since this lady could use a doctor right now Daryl stayed behind to gather everything while I brought them here."
"You can go ahead and take her in to get patched up, but Deanna's got a strict rule now that everyone who comes in is to be brought to see her immediately so he's gonna have to come with me. After they relieve themselves of their weapons of course."
Miles was aware of their 'no weapon' policy, he and Chelsea had talked about it at length and he'd decided that he could live with it if he had to, but if the guy thought he was separating them he had another thing coming.
Aaron doubted Miles would take too kindly to being pulled from his sister so he shook his head and said, "Sorry, but if Deanna wants to see them she'll have to follow us because I promised them they'd stay together." When it looked like the man might argue he added, "Tell her if she's got a problem with that she can talk to me about it later. Right now we need to get her someplace where she can lie down."
"If you want to go against the boss lady be my guest. I'll need those weapons though."
Handing them over, Miles followed after Aaron as he led them down a street to one of the houses at the end. "Thanks for that."
"No problem. Just keep in mind that Deanna's not going to be happy that you disregarded her order. She probably won't kick you out, but she definitely won't go easy on you."
"You going to get in trouble for helping us?"
Aaron shrugged. "A slap on the wrist at most, nothing to worry about." Knocking on the door he smiled when the person he was looking for answered. "Carol, good, I was hoping you'd be here."
Seeing Aaron the first thing Carol did was look around for Daryl and when she didn't see him she began to panic. "What happened, is he alright?"
"Don't worry, Daryl's fine. He should be back soon," Aaron replied soothingly. "That's not why I came though, we stumbled upon someone I think you might know and I figured it would be better if you tended to her injuries since the others are still upset with you guys for brining her in under Deanna's nose."
"Who . . . ?" Trailing off she caught sight of the three standing behind Aaron and her eyes widened. "Chelsea, what happened?"
Blinking several times in an attempt to focus, Chelsea grinned. "Oh, hey Carol. Got anymore of that spaghetti?" she asked, then promptly passed out.
Struggling under the sudden weight Miles released Natalie's hand so he could hook his other arm under Chelsea's knees and lift her into his arms. "She hasn't recovered from her earlier injuries yet so of course we had to get swarmed on the way here. She's probably just exhausted, but if you wouldn't mind giving her a quick once over I'd really appreciate it."
"Absolutely, just follow me and I'll show you where you can lay her down."
Nodding at Aaron when the other man waved and headed off, Miles followed Carol up the stairs with Natalie close on his heels. Glancing around he had to admit that so far he liked what he saw. The place was secure, guarded and clean! He was lucky if they managed to keep the laundry and dishes done, sweeping and dusting were so low on his list of priorities he was amazed he even knew what those words were anymore.
"Here, put her on the bed," Carol said as she pushed open a bedroom door and motioned him inside.
Placing her down gently on the flower print bedspread he stepped back, wrapping his hand around Natalie's when she held hers up to him.
Carol looked from Chelsea's unconscious form to the man and little girl and, noticing how grimy they were, offered, "You two are more than welcome to use the bathroom next door to get cleaned up while I examine her. Unless you'd like to stay that is," she added hurriedly.
Shaking his head Miles made a face at that. "No thanks, I really don't need to see my sister without her clothes on. I'd be scarred for life. Come on Nat, let's go wash up while your aunt gets some rest."
When they reached the doorway he paused long enough to say, "My name is Miles by the way, and this is my daughter Natalie."
"It's nice to meet you both."
"Nice to meet you as well. Well we'd better let you get to work. Come along sweetie." And with that he led Natalie out of the room in search of the bathroom and the hot water Chelsea had talked so much about.
ooooo
It hadn't taken Daryl too long to collect their gear, but even with as quickly as he'd walked he didn't manage to catch up with the others on the trip back.
Nodding to the man at the gate as he was let in he decided to drop the packs off with Carol for safekeeping before grabbing a shower. He probably could've left them in the weapons locker, but he wanted to let Carol know he was back anyway so why not save himself a stop.
Pushing open the front door with his foot he dropped everything he was carrying against the wall and called out, "Carol?"
"Upstairs," her slightly muffled voice replied.
Taking the steps two at a time he was outside her partially open bedroom door in seconds and he shoved it open the rest of the way while mumbling, "Hey, I'm ho- . . ." His voice trailed off and his eyes widened when he saw her attempting to remove Chelsea's shirt and he quickly spun around when her stomach started showing.
Unaware of his discomfort Carol tugged at the shirt, grunting in frustration when Chelsea slipped in her grasp. "Get over here and give me a hand will you."
When she didn't hear him moving she turned to face him and rolled her eyes at his back. "Relax, I'm not asking you to strip her naked, I just need to get this shirt off of her so I can get a better look at her torso."
Still facing the wall Daryl cleared his throat before speaking. "Um, shouldn't Miles help ya with that? He is her brother ya know."
"He and that little girl of his are getting cleaned up. Now quit being a baby and get over here."
Taking a deep breath he released it slowly. "Fine, but if either of 'em get pissed about it I'm blamin' ya for it."
Making his way over to the bed he shifted around nervously until Carol leaned Chelsea's upper body in his direction.
"Hold her steady while I get this thing off her then you can lay her back down."
It took him a moment to figure out the best place to put his hands to keep her steady, but once he did he turned his head away to give her some privacy while Carol worked her arms out of the snug fitting shirt.
When he heard "All done," he turned his head around long enough to make sure he wasn't going to twist her about and did a double-take when he spotted the freshly healed wound on her side.
Making sure she was more or less comfortable he stood back and eyed what appeared to be a bullet hole. Now he hadn't gotten a real good look at her last time he'd seen her but he was fairly certain she hadn't had that and he couldn't help but wonder what she'd gotten herself into while she'd been away.
"She gonna be alright?"
Not looking up from where she was inspecting a dark bruise along the bottom of Chelsea's ribcage, Carol nodded. "She'll be sore when she wakes up I'm sure, but other than that she appears to be in fairly good shape all things considered."
"Well if ya don't need me I'm gonna hit the shower."
"I'm good here, but find me when you're finished will you. I want to hear how your trip went."
"Ain't nothin' to tell, trip was a bust."
Carol glanced over at the slumbering woman and then back with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't say that, but you can give me the details later. Go get yourself cleaned up before you stink the place up."
Rolling his eyes, Daryl gave her a wave as he headed down the hall.
Shortly after he left Carol heard the bathroom door open and she covered up Chelsea before stepping out of the room.
Looking down at the blonde haired child who was running her hands through her wet hair she bent over slightly and smiled. "So, do you feel better now?"
Natalie beamed. "Yep, I got to take a shower!" she replied excitedly.
Smiling down at his daughter Miles said, "Natalie, what do you say to the nice lady?"
"Thank you!"
"It was my pleasure. Now, if it's alright with your daddy, how would you like to help me bake some cookies?"
Her whole face lit up after hearing that and even though he barely knew the woman Miles simply couldn't say no when Natalie turned those puppy dog eyes on him.
"Can I go, pretty please?" she begged.
Crouching down to eye level he gave her a serious look. "You remember the rules?"
Natalie nodded. "Don't go anywhere with anyone, don't play with anything sharp, and if I ever get scared scream as loud as I can."
"That's my girl," Miles said with a grin. "Now off you go to play in the kitchen, and make sure you save some cookies for your aunt and I."
As she bounded down the stairs Carol moved to follow her, pausing long enough to say, "Since Aaron brought you here I'm going to assume you haven't been to see Deanna yet which means she'll be sending someone to fetch you soon, if she hasn't already. I'm sure you're not interested in leaving Chelsea alone here so I'll do my best to keep them out of your hair for as long as I can, but there's been a bit of unrest between our groups since we let her in without approval and I don't know how long I'll be able to hold them off. Just wanted to give you a heads up."
"Thanks for your help. And feel free to tell anyone who stops by that Natalie and I aren't going anywhere until Chelsea wakes up. I don't care what the rules are here, those girls are my only priority."
Not the least bit surprised by his response, she figured he'd say something like that, Carol smiled. "Well now that we've got that settled I really should get down to the kitchen before that little girl of yours gets started without me."
Once she was gone Miles stepped into the bedroom to check on Chelsea one last time. Brushing her hair away from her face he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks for always looking out for us," he murmured. "From now on I promise I'm going to protect you."
After making sure she was all tucked in he quietly closed the door behind him on his way downstairs to the kitchen. It was time to see what kind of trouble his daughter had managed to get herself into.