Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

When Chelsea woke up she was terrified that being saved had been nothing more than a dream, but the sight of Miles sprawled out on a nearby chair with Natalie curled up on his lap allowed her to release the breath she'd been holding and she ran a hand through her disheveled hair as her heart rate slowed down.

"Good, you're awake," Miles' sleepy voice murmured from the opposite side of the room. "I was starting to worry you were going to have a repeat of the warehouse incident."

"How long have I been out?"

"Awhile. It's late; I think most of the town is asleep right now."

Shoving the blanket covering her aside, she sat up slowly and was pleased to find that she wasn't all that sore. At least not like she was when she'd been shot. This was more of a total body ache as opposed to searing pain, which in her book was the equivalent of being perfectly fine.

Pushing herself to her feet she stretched her tired muscles before tipping her head towards the bed. "Why don't you two take the bed, I'll sleep on the chair when I get back."

"Where are you planning on going?" Miles asked through a yawn as he gently lifted Natalie up and moved her under the covers.

"Not far, I just need to get some fresh air."

Crawling in behind his daughter he snuggled into the blankets while mumbling, "I doubt Mr. 'I'm too sexy for my sleeves' will let you leave, but you're welcome to try."

"Huh?"

Miles opened his eyes long enough to explain. "The lady in charge got upset when I refused to meet with her and has put us on house arrest. I know you said to play nice, but I wasn't going to leave you by yourself in a house full of strangers until you were awake and able to kick ass if need be. She wasn't too happy about that and demanded someone keep an eye on us until we've gone through the interview process . . . whatever the hell that means."

"So there's someone outside the door right now?"

"Yep, your friend 'hunter boy' was given guard duty. There was a huge argument about it a few hours ago, the boss lady wanted one of her own people in here but these guys refused to have someone else inside the house so the job was given to Daryl." Yawning once more he burrowed his head deeper into the pillow. "Well good luck, and if you manage to sneak out make sure you don't wake us up when you come back in."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

Opening the door slowly, Chelsea caught sight of Daryl sitting on a chair a few feet down the hall with his legs kicked up over the armrest and a book open in his lap. "I hear I have to ask you permission to go outside."

Closing the book, Daryl sat up and shrugged. "Wasn't my idea but I gotta follow the rules all the same."

"And do those rules allow me to go for a walk?"

"Deanna said ta keep an eye on ya, didn't say you couldn't go nowhere."

"What about them?" she asked, glancing back at the door behind her. "You going to get in trouble for leaving them unguarded?"

"They asleep?" Seeing her nod he shook his head. "Nah, 'sides, it ain't like anyone's gonna find out about it anyway."

When he remained sitting she shifted from one foot to the other before motioning towards the stairs. "So . . . about that walk."

Getting to his feet Daryl led the way downstairs and to the front door, stopping long enough to let Chelsea put her shoes on before opening the door and allowing her to pass through. "Where to?" he asked once they were outside.

Looking up at the star covered sky she gave him a half shrug. "Doesn't really matter. I just wanted to get some fresh air, that's all."

Since she didn't have a destination in mind he began walking down the street in the direction of the gate with her following after him at a relaxed pace. Shoving his hands in his pockets he wondered if he should say something or if this was one of those moments best left in silence, and then promptly reminded himself that he was only there to watch her, not keep her company.

"It's peaceful here," Chelsea said after several minutes of walking. "Calm and quiet, one can almost pretend that things are back to normal."

"Things ain't never gonna be normal again."

"Of course not, but being here it's easy to forget about what's going on outside those walls." Looking around she saw several houses with lights on in their windows, and along with the lit street lamps the place gave off the appearance of a typical suburban community from back in the days before the dead began to roam the earth.

"Can ya do that, forget?"

Snorting, Chelsea shook her head. "Hell no. I've seen and done too many bad things to ever think the world is anything other than a dangerous hellhole. What about you?"

"Never."

"Is that why your two groups don't get along very well? They want to believe everything is alright and you guys know it isn't."

Daryl was silent for a moment before answering. "They ain't bad people, just ain't been out much since things got bad. It makes 'em weak, and the fact that we ain't like that terrifies 'em. Not the best livin' arrangements, but we get along well enough."

When they reached the gate they turned around and headed back the way they came, this time with Chelsea leading the way. "Hey, I know it's late but do you think I could meet your brother real quick. I've been kind of looking forward to talking with him."

Daryl hadn't expected her to remember their conversation and found himself wishing she hadn't as he now had to explain that that was never going to happen. "About that . . ." he began, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what to say next.

"Is he already asleep? We can wait until the morning, it's no big deal."

"It ain't that." Taking a deep breath he decided to just say it and be done with it. "Ya can't see 'im . . . he's dead."

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Chelsea quickly apologized.

"Ain't your fault, I shoulda told ya before. He's been dead awhile now."

Not knowing what else to do, and feeling really bad for bringing up such a sore subject, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a brief hug. "I'm sorry for your loss," she murmured as she released him. "I can't imagine how hard that must've been."

"We all lose people we care about, just the way things are now."

He was definitely still bothered by it, but since he was trying so very hard to pretend otherwise she acted like she didn't notice and instead changed the subject as they approached the house. "Don't suppose we could make a little detour to the kitchen before you lock me back upstairs."

"So long as ya don't eat all the cookies ya can do as ya like."

"You have cookies?" When he nodded she clapped her hands together in delight and raced off into the house while chanting "Cookies!" over and over again.

Shaking his head at her behavior Daryl followed after her intent on snagging one for himself before she devoured them all.

ooooo

Chelsea was forced awake the next morning far too early by an energetic little girl and her equally hyper father.

"I got to bake cookies!" Natalie said at the same time Miles clutched at his heart and cried out dramatically, "I think I'm in love!"

Looking from her niece to her brother then back again she settled on dealing with the easiest conversation first. "So you're the one I have to thank for those delicious treats."

"Yep, that nice lady Carol helped me." Climbing onto the bed Natalie began to bounce up and down in excitement. "And tonight she said I could help her with dinner. Also, daddy says I might be able to go to school with the other kids tomorrow, isn't that neat?"

"It sure is."

"Nat, why don't you go brush your teeth real quick while I talk with your aunt."

With a nod she hopped off the bed and skipped out of the room as Chelsea raised an eyebrow at Miles. "You're not really going to make me listen to another one of your 'I met the girl of my dreams' speeches are you? 'Cause it's too damn early for phrases like 'eyes as blue as sapphires' and 'lips the color of roses'. I need to get at least a little food in me before you go making me want to hurl."

Crossing his arms over his chest Miles muttered, "I'm not that bad," under his breath.

"When you met Annabeth you compared her hair to silk and her skin to satin, and let's not forget how Jasmine 'smelt as sweet as perfume' or the way Jessie's gaze 'reached straight to your soul'," she replied with a snort. Seeing him pout she rolled her eyes before grumbling, "Fine, just make it quick."

Smiling brightly he plopped himself down on the bed next to her. "So, Natalie and I were out in the yard playing earlier when movement down the street caught my eye. At first I thought it was someone doing yard work or something, which is strange enough mind you, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a woman practicing with a sword. A sword! And not one of those flimsy fencing ones either, this was more like a samurai sword. Anyway, you should've seen the way she moved, it was so graceful. Deadly and elegant at the same time; she was a thing of beauty."

"The sword or the woman?"

"Both, but I was actually referring to the dark skinned woman. She had this air about her that just screamed dangerous, and on top of that she was wearing a police uniform! She's my ideal woman and as soon as I find out her name I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Chelsea held up her hand. "Slow down there Romeo, you're getting way too far ahead of yourself. For starters there's no guarantee that we'll be allowed to stay, and even if we are, who's to say she's not already taken?"

"She's not, I know these things." When Chelsea covered a cough behind her hand that sounded suspiciously like 'bullshit' he narrowed his eyes. "That was one time, years ago mind you, and she was flirting with me!"

"She was pregnant and wearing a wedding ring."

"That's what you say, but I still maintain that she was single and on the prowl."

Giving her brother a friendly shove she got to her feet and headed towards the closet. "And that right there is why her husband nearly sent you to the hospital. Now kindly get the hell out of here so I can get dressed."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." When he reached the door Miles paused. "Should I let them know you're awake or would you rather get something to eat before they haul us away for questioning?"

"I'd really rather not do it on an empty stomach, but to be honest I just want to get it over with so go ahead and tell them I'll be ready shortly. No point in dragging things out any longer."

Watching as he nodded and walked out she grabbed a light blue shirt and some khaki shorts out of the closet at random and quickly pulled them on. Her shoes were next as she'd dumped them at the foot of the bed when she'd gotten back last night instead of leaving them by the door like she'd originally planned. Once she was finished she tied her hair back and deemed herself ready to go.

Stepping out into the hall she made her way to the stairs and went down to join her brother who she spotted standing next to the door helping Natalie get ready. Aaron was there as well and she immediately squashed the disappointment that bubbled up when she realized that Daryl wasn't going to be the one escorting them to wherever it was they were going.

"Are you guys all set?" Aaron asked once Miles got his shoes on. When they nodded he pushed open the door and began walking down the street.

Keeping Natalie between them, Chelsea swept her eyes back and forth over their surroundings in search of anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't that she thought they were going to attack them, she simply didn't trust the people here. Well, most of them anyway.

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked curiously as she skipped along.

Taking her hand Miles held it tightly. "Remember that lady I told you about, the one who wants to ask us some questions, we're going to visit her.

"You mean the lady in charge of the school?" Seeing him nod she slowed down and started walking almost hesitantly. "Do you think she'll like me? I mean I know I probably don't know as much as the other kids here, but I promise I'll work extra hard to catch up. You think she'll say yes, right?"

"She'd be crazy not to."

Beaming up at her father she began to hum a cheery tune.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination and they soon found themselves standing outside the door of a very well kept house. When Aaron raised his hand to knock Chelsea caught Miles' eye and pointed at herself while mouthing, "Me first."

"Ah, Deanna, I've brought the new guests as requested," Aaron said when an older brown haired woman opened the door. "This is Chelsea, her brother Miles and his daughter Natalie."

"Thanks, that'll be all Aaron," the woman replied as she eyed the trio warily. Aaron remained where he was and she turned to give him a pointed look. "I said, that'll be all."

Chelsea hadn't even spoken with her yet and already she didn't like the woman. They way she talked reminded her of her old boss and she clenched her jaw shut to keep herself from saying anything that would likely get them thrown out.

Finally taking the hint Aaron tipped his head while saying, "Well if you need anything feel free to come find me. I live down that street over there, third house on the right." Giving Natalie a wave he turned on his heel and took his leave.

Once he was gone Deanna stepped back and motioned them inside. "I'm sure this won't take long but you may as well make yourselves comfortable." Leading them through the entryway and into the living room she motioned to the couch. "One of you can wait here while the other comes with me."

"I'll be going first," Chelsea said as Miles and Natalie went to sit down.

Giving her a look of mistrust, Deanna walked towards a door on the right side of the room. "This way then."

Following after her Chelsea sat down in the chair opposite what she assumed was Deanna's desk and crossed her arms over her chest. "So," she began as the other woman took a seat as well. "I gather you've already made your decision. Care to explain why you're planning on kicking us out of your lovely little community."

"I let Rick and his friends in because they had something we desperately needed," Deanna replied with narrowed eyes. "You two on the other hand have absolutely nothing to offer us besides trouble."

"And you know this how exactly? It's not like you've spent any time with us."

"I don't need to, I know your kind." When a look of disbelief crossed Chelsea's face she continued. "I'm sure you thought you were pretty smart leaving like you did, making us believe you truly didn't want anything from us. Then after a few months you show up again with a doting father and his adorable child hoping to make us even less suspicious of you, but I know a trap when I see one. Now I don't know how many others you have out there but know this, we will not give this place up without a fight!" she finished, slamming her fist down on the desk with enough force to knock over one of the photos.

Shaking her head Chelsea laughed humorlessly. "I have no idea what gave you that crazy idea, but you're full of shit. I didn't stay last time because I was searching for my brother and niece, something I'd been doing since the dead decided to take over the world, so I only stopped by long enough to grab a shower and some food. I wasn't aware that my desire to find my family was going to blacklist me, but if I had been I assure you we never would've wasted our time coming back to this place."

"Still not willing to give up on this lie of yours? Well, perhaps the young man in the other room will be more . . . cooperative."

The way she'd said that last word had Chelsea clenching the armrest of her chair so tightly she could feel her nails digging into the wood. "If you harm a single hair on either of their heads I'll tear you apart limb by limb. Slowly and very painfully."

Deanna shook her head. "Threats will do you no good, you're hopelessly outnumbered here."

At that moment Chelsea wanted nothing more than to reach over and strangle the woman across from her. It would be so easy, take hardly any effort by the look of things, and with Deanna dead maybe the community would be more inclined to let them stay.

Well, Miles and Natalie anyway. She had no doubt that killing the older woman would either get her exiled or killed herself, but so long as her brother and niece were allowed to stay it was a price she was more than willing to pay.

Before she could go through with it, however, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Sometimes it was all too easy to fall back into that 'take what you want' mentality, but doing so now would only prove her point and there was no way Chelsea was going to give her the satisfaction. "I see, well there's nothing more for us to talk about then is there. I think it's time for us to take our leave," she said as she pushed herself to her feet and headed back towards the living room.

Watching the younger woman leave Deanna allowed a genuine smile to grace her lips. "It appears Rick was right about you after all."

Pausing mid-step, Chelsea looked back over her shoulder questioningly. "Excuse me?"

"When you first showed up I was furious that he'd taken it upon himself to allow a stranger into our community," she replied as she leaned back in her seat. "It's my job to clear all potential residents and I told him as much after you'd left. During the course of our little argument, however, he talked a great deal about you and how they were all for you staying if you ever decided to come back. Of course by then word had spread about how you'd been on your own for quite some time so I had my doubts you'd return, and if you did if you'd even be able to acclimate to our way of life, but I promised to give you a chance if you ever made your way back here."

"If this is what you call 'giving me a chance' I'd hate to see how you'd be if you weren't," Chelsea said with a snort.

"I apologize for the way I treated you, but I had to be certain you weren't the type of person who uses violence to solve things."

"You're lucky I'm not, otherwise you'd be one of those things now."

Deanna gave her a serious look. "Perhaps, but I've learned to trust Rick's instincts. The man has a knack for spotting things most people miss. Of course that's not to say I wasn't prepared for the worst," she finished as she pulled a gun out from under her desk and held it up for Chelsea to see. "Had you done anything to harm me I would've taken you out without hesitation."

Eyeing the weapon in her hand, Chelsea turned to face the other woman completely and crossed her arms over her chest. "So what happens now? If all of this was just for show does that means we're going to be allowed to stay?"

"Why don't you take a seat, I've still got a few questions I'd like to ask you."

ooooo

As soon as Chelsea disappeared into the other room with Deanna Miles had wrapped his arm around Natalie's shoulder and held her tight against his side. He tried to stay upbeat for his daughter's sake, but the way the other woman had looked at them gave him little hope that things would turn out okay. The raised voices he could hear through the closed door did nothing to convince him otherwise.

"Do you think aunty Chelsea is alright in there?" Natalie asked worriedly after a particularly loud banging noise.

"I'm sure she's just fine. You know your aunt, probably helping put up a picture or something." It was impossible to tell if she believed him since she was currently burying her face into his shirt, but she wasn't trembling anymore so he took that as a good sign.

Time seemed to crawl by and after what seemed like hours Miles decided he'd had enough. The room had been quiet for some time and he couldn't take not knowing anymore. Shifting Natalie so she was no longer pressed against him he made to stand up when the door was pushed open and the two women came strolling out.

Eyeing her from head to toe Miles released the breath he'd been holding when it appeared that she was still in one piece. Actually, upon further inspection she seemed to be in a fairly decent mood.

"Your turn Miles," Chelsea said as she sat down on the couch next to Natalie and motioned for him to get moving.

Any hesitation he may have felt disappeared when he saw the small smile on her face and he followed after Deanna almost eagerly. Whatever was about to happen couldn't possibly be bad, not with how relaxed Chelsea had looked.

Closing the door, Deanna took a seat behind her desk and pointed to the chair opposite her. "You may take a seat if you'd like," she offered when he remained standing a few feet inside the room.

Slowing sinking down into the chair, Miles glanced around the office and began to fidget slightly when she simply sat there staring at him. "So, um, how does this whole interview thing work?" he asked, unable to take the silence anymore.

Ignoring his question Deanna asked one of her own. "How old is your daughter?"

"Nearly five, why?"

"I see, and how long have you been taking care of her on your own?"

Not entirely sure where this line of questioning was going Miles hesitated a moment before replying. ". . . a little over a year."

"Her mother?"

Narrowing his eyes he said shortly, "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Humor me," Deanna said, her voice implying she wouldn't take no for an answer.

". . . a few months into all this she had a breakdown of sorts. Said she just couldn't handle it anymore and hung herself from the ceiling fan," he replied finally, his voice barely above a whisper. Taking a deep breath he added, "Any other painful memories you'd like to bring up?"

Standing up, she walked around the desk and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm truly sorry for putting you through all this, but I need to know the real person I'm dealing with. Letting the wrong kinds of people stay has proven disastrous in the past and I'd rather not repeat that mistake."

"And what, you think my answer is going to tell you something vital about me? That's pretty crappy investigative work if you ask me." Shaking his head in disbelief Miles found himself wondering how the woman ever came to be in charge.

"What you said is only part of it. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about someone through their body language alone. For instance, just now you showed serious anger while talking about your wife killing herself, but there was also remorse. You're upset with her for abandoning you and your daughter, you think she was weak for taking her own life, but you also feel terrible because when she came back you were forced to 'kill' her again. Am I right?"

Swallowing thickly he fought back the images that sprang forth at the mention of that terrible day, when he'd come home to find her body hanging from the ceiling fan and realized that she'd become one of the undead. He'd never told anyone what he'd done, not even Chelsea, and yet this woman he'd never met before was reading him like an open book.

Moving over towards the door Deanna paused before opening it. "I'd like to talk with you some more, figure out where you'd be best suited around here, but that's enough for today. Why don't you take your daughter and go introduce her to the other kids at the school instead, I'm sure she'd like that."

"We can stay?" Miles asked quietly.

"You can stay."

When the door closed and he was left in silence he dropped his head to his knees and allowed himself to cry. He was thrilled they managed to find a safe place as wonderful as this to stay, but she'd opened up an old wound he'd never properly let heal and he couldn't stop the tears as they poured down his face.

"Damn you Annabeth!" he sobbed. "How dare you leave us like that!"

ooooo

Chelsea looked up from the very intense game of rock-paper-scissors she was playing with her niece when Deanna walked in. "Where's Miles?"

"He's going to need a few minutes."

The look on the other woman's face had Chelsea nodding in understanding. During their conversation she'd talked about some of the harder times she'd had during her journey, several near rapes, the countless number of lives she'd taken, and the one time she'd contemplated ending it all. It was a lot to work through, and though he hadn't gone through quite as much she'd always suspected that Miles had been forced to deal with Annabeth after she'd turned. Something she was certain Deanna had managed to pull out of him.

"In the meantime, would you two like something to eat? I've got some delicious muffins in the kitchen."

Natalie was on her feet in an instant with a big smile on her face. "Yes please!" and then quickly turned to Chelsea and added, "It's okay, right?"

Patting the little girl on the head Chelsea returned her smile before standing up. "Sure."

Rocking back and forth on her heels, Natalie looked over at the closed door hesitantly. ". . . daddy won't mind?"

"Well I don't know," Chelsea began, tickling her niece's sides. "Are you planning on eating them all before he joins us you little muffin thief?"

With a squeal Natalie wriggled out of Chelsea's grasp and darted after Deanna who was already halfway to the kitchen.

Shaking her head, Chelsea glanced back at the door behind her and murmured, "Take all the time you need little brother. We'll be right here when you're ready to come back to us," before following after the others.