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

Miles wiped the last of the tears from his eyes and stood up feeling better than he had in ages. He'd been holding in all his anger and pain for so long it was a relief to finally let it all out. Rubbing at his face he hoped that it wasn't too noticeable that he'd been crying; Chelsea would never let him live it down if he went out there looking all red and puffy eyed.

Letting himself out of the office he was surprised to find the living room empty, no sign of his daughter or sister anywhere. The sound of giggling reached his ears and he followed it towards what turned out to be the kitchen. Leaning against the wall he smiled at the sight before him.

Deanna was at the sink washing dishes while Natalie and Chelsea were fighting over who got to clear the table. Apparently it had become an all out war as they were both holding up a plate like a shield and using spoons to swat each other away.

"Give up, the last cup will be mine!" Chelsea proclaimed as she gently jabbed at Natalie's plate.

"Never!"

When Natalie dove in for an attack Miles cleared his throat and she instantly froze.

"Daddy!" she cried happily, dropping the items she was holding onto the table and rushing over to him.

Lifting his daughter into his arms Miles held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Hey sweetie, did you have fun with your aunty Chelsea?"

"Uh huh, we were playing 'king of the table'." Tilting her head up she added, voice full of pride, "I was winning."

"I don't think so squirt," Chelsea chimed in as she proceeded to grab the rest of the dishes from the table. "I was ahead by two forks."

"That doesn't count; your arms are longer than mine!"

Seeing the pout on his daughter's face Miles shook his head and sighed dramatically while saying, "Alas, it seems she'll never give up her cheating ways. Oh woe is me, to be related to one such as her, how cruel life is."

"Watch it mister, I've got a spoon and I know how to use it."

"You wouldn't dare." When the grin on her face turned positively evil he paled and began to laugh nervously. "What I meant to say was that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose," he told the little girl in his arms. "Accept your defeat with honor and strive to do better next time."

"Nice save."

Releasing the breath he'd been holding, for a second there he'd been afraid she might actually follow through with her attack, Miles shifted Natalie to his hip. "If you guys are finished here, how would you like to go check out the school Nat?"

"Really?" Seeing him nod she bobbed her head up and down and cheered, "Yippee! I get to go to school!"

"Remember, today we're just going to introduce you to everyone and take a look around." It became apparent that she was no longer listening to him when she slid to the ground and began to dance around the kitchen singing 'School is fun' to the tune of Jingle Bells. Deanna gave him an amused look and he shrugged. "What can I say, she's really looking forward to it."

"Well you'd best get moving before she leaves without you."

Looking up Miles was surprised to see that Natalie was already at the door and he took off after her while calling out, "Wait for me!"

"Thank you," Chelsea said soon after the front door slammed shut.

"There's no need to thank me," Deanna replied, taking the dishes from Chelsea's arms and setting them in the sink. "You two seem like decent people and there aren't many of those left nowadays. Prove me right and you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Prove me wrong . . . well, you don't need me to tell you how that'll end."

"We won't do anything to disappoint you, at least not intentionally. This place means too much to us."

"That's good to hear." Slipping her hands back into the soapy water Deanna glanced back over her shoulder. "You remember I told you I'd be giving you a job to do around here?" When Chelsea nodded she continued. "I do believe I just figured out what it's going to be."

"And that would be . . .?"

"You're going to be our new recruiter."

"Your what now?"

Rinsing off the last of the dishes Deanna wiped her hands dry on a nearby towel and turned to face the younger woman fully. "Recruiter. In other words you're going to go out and find other like-minded people to join us here in Alexandria."

"You mean like Aaron and hunter boy?" When Deanna raised an eyebrow in question she added, "I mean, Daryl."

Smiling slightly at the nickname, it was obvious that the two of them got along well which meant she'd definitely made the right decision, Deanna nodded. "Precisely. Aaron is looking to retire, so to speak, and I need to find him a replacement. You're it."

"Why me? I mean wouldn't it make more sense to send someone who's been here for awhile, someone who knows all about this place?"

"Aaron will continue going with you for a little while to get you used to things so you'll have plenty of time to learn, but that's not why I chose you. Daryl needs to keep moving, he's not like the rest of us who're content to stay here behind these walls. That was one of the reasons I sent him out with Aaron, that and the fact that he's more than capable of handling tough situations. The two of them get along quite nicely, and work well together, but with Aaron looking to stick around here I now have the difficult task of finding someone who Daryl will willingly work with. Unfortunately, even after all this time he's still wary of most of us, and while I wouldn't mind sending one of his group out with him none of them seem as eager to be free."

"You on the other hand," Deanna continued with a smile. "You're just like him. Don't get me wrong, I know you want to be here, but if you stay cooped up for long you're likely going to have some sort of meltdown and neither of us want to see that happen."

A look of disbelief fell across Chelsea's face. "Let me get this straight, you're sending me out to hunt down survivors because you think I'll go stir-crazy if I'm here for too long?"

Not wanting her to take offense Deanna held up her hands and shook her head gently. "Yes and no. I'm not saying you'll have a problem living here, in fact I'm quite certain you'll adjust nicely, it's just that with everything you've been through do you really think you'll be content to sit around doing mundane things all day?" Chelsea opened her mouth only to close it with a frown and she pressed on. "I thought so. This isn't a punishment, not by any means, I simply feel that this is something you'd be well suited for. Give it a few weeks, please, and if you find it really isn't for you we can always move you to something else."

Chelsea thought about it for a moment and decided why not. It wasn't like she was agreeing to do it forever, and besides, as much as she wanted to deny it Deanna was right. She'd nearly driven Miles up a wall when she'd been holed up in that house after she'd been shot. It wasn't that she wanted to be out there so much as it had become second nature for her to be constantly on the lookout for danger and that wasn't likely to go away anytime soon.

Taking a deep breath she tipped her head in agreement. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Thank you. Now why don't you go on and catch up with your family and enjoy the rest of your day," Deanna replied with a smile. "I'll let Aaron know what's going on and he'll let you know when they're heading back out. Until then, relax."

Chuckling at the muttered, "Relax? Have you met my brother and niece?" coming from the young woman opposite her, Deanna nodded in understanding before leading her guest back to the front door. "If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, and please let me know if you change your mind. I don't want to send you out there if you're having second thoughts."

"I will, and thanks again . . . for everything."

Watching Chelsea walk off down the street Deanna was surprised to see Daryl jog over to join her. It hadn't been hard to figure out that the quiet man had a bit of a soft spot for her, his ears would always perk up when she was being talked about and oftentimes he'd even join in the conversation, but she'd chalked it up to them being . . . birds of a feather, as it were. Now, as she got her first actual glimpse of the two of them together she began to rethink her earlier assumption.

Whether the two of them knew it or not there was definitely something brewing between them and Deanna momentarily contemplated moving Chelsea to a different job. She'd always been hesitant to send Aaron and Eric out together, fearing their feelings for each other might get them into serious trouble, but it had never been a problem for them and she decided to see where things went before making a final decision.

Besides, it seemed likely that neither Chelsea nor Daryl had any idea that they felt anything other than camaraderie for each other at the moment so there was no reason to rush things. She'd give it some time and go from there. Nodding at her decision she turned around and headed back inside the house.

ooooo

Chelsea had been all set to track down Miles and Natalie once she stepped outside but a familiar face made her pause. Giving Daryl a wave she found herself wondering why in the world his shirt, sleeveless again, and khaki cargo pants were covered in black smudges.

When he headed across the street to join her she slowed down slightly and greeted him properly. "Morning hunter boy."

Completely unfazed by the nickname at this point, though still not entirely sure why she'd given it to him in the first place, Daryl dipped his head while mumbling, "Mornin'."

When he didn't seem inclined to say anything else she gave a small shrug and slowly started walking in the direction of the 'school'. He hesitated for a moment before moving to follow and she felt her lips twitch up slightly.

"So," she began after they'd passed a couple of houses. "Did you lose a fight with a robot or what?" she asked jokingly, waving her hand at his soiled clothes.

Glancing down Daryl shook his head with a snort. "Ya, 'cause those damn machines are everywhere nowadays." Poking at a particularly large stain on his upper thigh he admitted, "It's grease 'n motor oil."

"Ah, you're one of those guys," Chelsea said with a hint of a smirk, and then before he could say anything in response added, "You know, the ones who like to work on cars and then don't bother to get cleaned up just to drive some women crazy. I knew a few of your kind before . . . this," she finished, waving her hand to emphasize the word. "Never pegged you as a grease monkey though hunter boy."

Blushing bright red Daryl sputtered. "It ain't like that, 'm not tryin' to impress nobody!"

"Relax, I was only messing with you," she managed to get out without completely breaking down into a fit of laughter.

"Ain't funny."

"Oh I don't know, I thought it was pretty damn hilarious watching you turn into a tomato like that."

Shoving his hands into his pockets Daryl dropped his eyes to the ground and glared at the pavement beneath his feet, all the while wondering what he found so interesting about the infuriating woman.

"But seriously," Chelsea continued, completely ignoring his pouting. "What are you working on that's got you looking like that . . . and can I help?"

Jerking his head up at the question he fully expected it to be another one of her jokes and was surprised to find that she looked completely serious, a little hopeful even. "Rebuildin' my bike."

"Never worked on a motorcycle before but it sounds like fun. When are you going to work on it again?"

"Maybe this evenin'," he replied with a shrug. "Depends on what's goin' on."

Spotting Miles coming out of the house across the street she punched his arm lightly and said, "Well be sure and let me know when you do alright, later hunter boy," before jogging towards her brother.

Shaking his head, he'd never actually agreed to allow her to help and here she was making plans to join him, Daryl decided that perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad having her hanging around the garage. He enjoyed talking with her after all, and if he was really lucky maybe she'd even know her way around hand tools.

ooooo

Chelsea slowed to a walk as she approached Miles and the dark haired woman he was speaking with outside the house the community used as a school. A quick check showed that her niece was nowhere to be found and she raised an eyebrow in question when she caught her brother's eye. He jerked his chin towards the backyard so she headed in that direction with a nod while he finished his conversation with one of the 'teachers'.

It wasn't hard to spot Natalie, she was the smallest girl in the yard, and Chelsea leaned back against the side of the house as she watched her niece race around the grass with several other children of varying ages. She was smiling and laughing as they played what looked like a variation of tag and Chelsea's heart melted at the sight.

Things would never be normal again, but right now, watching her niece run and play she found herself thinking that this, whatever this was, was as close as they were ever going to get. The thought made her smile and suddenly the idea of leaving, going back out there to recruit people, wasn't as appealing anymore.

Oh she'd do her time like she'd agreed, but after that she was going to find something else to occupy her time around the community. Something that didn't require her to risk her life as often and, more importantly, kept her with the two people she cared about more than anything in the world.