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

As promised Chelsea was left alone for the next several days, days she spent taking her niece to school and back, learning about Alexandria and its inhabitants, and trying very hard not to bash her brother's head against a wall every time he brought up his crush.

It was great that he'd found someone new and all, he definitely deserved to be happy, but did he really need to tell her every little detail about what he'd learned while stalking the woman? And despite his claims otherwise, that's precisely what he was doing . . . stalking.

As far as Chelsea knew he'd never even spoken to the woman, Michonne, all he ever did was follow her around whenever he had the chance and ask other people questions about her. She'd tried to bring it up several times that he was taking things a bit too far, but no matter what she said, or how she said it, it never seemed to get through to him.

Instead she'd roll her eyes whenever he got started on one of his rants and try to think of anything other than how much she'd like to knock some sense into the idiot.

Thankfully no one else in the town seemed to mind his odd behavior all that much. Except perhaps the woman in question, but it was impossible to tell as she never said anything to anyone and her face gave away nothing.

When she wasn't trying to keep Miles out of trouble or working with Natalie on whatever 'awesome' new project she happened to be doing that hour, Chelsea could be found either helping Daryl with his bike -not that they'd made all that much progress as they tended to spend most of the time talking-, or following different people around to get a better feel for the place. She may have decided against keeping the position, but until her trial period was up she was going to make sure she did the best job possible.

ooooo

Chelsea woke up on her own that morning for the first time since they'd arrived in Alexandria. The house was eerily quiet which meant that Miles must've been out taking Natalie to school, something which was confirmed when the clock next to the bed showed it was just after nine, and she burrowed deeper into her pillow with every intention of going back to sleep for a couple more hours. She hadn't slept in awhile and the thought of lying in bed longer brought a contented smile to her face.

Of course the moment she rolled over and closed her eyes she suddenly remembered her conversation with Aaron the previous night and just like that she was tossing the blankets aside in her haste to get up. He'd been talking about heading out for the last couple of days but had wanted to make sure that Eric's cough didn't get worse before doing so.

Thankfully it had only been a minor cold and the other man was recovering nicely so Aaron had stopped by the house after dinner the night before to let her know they'd be leaving sometime the following day and that she'd need to be ready to go when they came to pick her up.

Hopping out of bed she made her way to the closet and pulled her backpack down from the top shelf. She hadn't touched it since moving in and she couldn't help but run her fingers over the faded green material reverently. Like her weapons that pack had kept her alive on her journey, and though she wanted nothing more than to stay in Alexandria with her family there was a part of her that was itching to put it back on and head back out into danger.

Perhaps Deanna had been right after all.

Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she'd made up her mind and wasn't about to change it just because of a little restlessness, she dug through the dresser in search of what she'd started referring to as 'beyond the wall' outfits.

They'd all been allowed to browse through the clothing closet once they'd gotten settled into their house and since she hadn't cared all that much about what she wore she'd made the mistake of allowing Natalie to pick out most of her clothes. Something she vowed to never do again.

Now it wasn't that she didn't like the outfits her niece had chosen for her it's just that they weren't all that practical nowadays. Where her clothing used to consist of comfortable pants and loose fitting shirts, now she mostly had skirts and dresses, with a few pairs of jeans thrown in for when, in Natalie's words, 'it got wintery'.

Sure they were cute and all, things she'd have had no problem wearing pre end-of-the-world, but they weren't much use for anything other than wandering around the community. So she'd snuck back in for a few normal outfits once Natalie had gone off to play with the other kids and had been hiding them in her dresser ever since.

Tossing the clothes in her pack once she'd dug them out she headed towards the bathroom to grab some hygiene stuff, as well as her first-aid kit which she'd made sure to completely restock soon after they'd arrived.

A book and her mp3 player were tossed on top of her clothes as well when she walked back into the room and she did a quick check to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

All her camping gear had been left in the bottom of her pack, just in case she'd needed to leave in a hurry, so she had all of that which meant that other than her shoes and coat, neither of which she was planning on actually packing, she had everything of importance.

Not including her weapons of course, but those she wouldn't be allowed to have until they headed out so there wasn't anything she could do about those yet.

With a satisfied nod she tossed her pack onto the bed and went downstairs to grab some breakfast. It was probably going to be a few days before she'd be able to cook a decent meal again and she planned to make good use of her time.

ooooo

"Grab your gear," Daryl hollered as he opened the front door while rapping on it three times with his knuckles.

Miles poked his head out of the kitchen where he was busy making a sandwich with a look of utter confusion on his face. "Uh, what? Are we being relocated or something?"

"He was talking to me," Chelsea answered as she took the stairs two at a time, her backpack thrown over one shoulder and a jacket draped over her arm.

Seeing the familiar pack made Miles pause and he looked between the two of them before crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes. "Stop," he ordered when Chelsea slipped her shoes on and stepped towards the door.

Chelsea froze at the tone in his voice and spun to face him slowly, a slightly sheepish look on her face.

"Explain."

Ignoring the look of confusion on Daryl's face Chelsea took a deep breath and prepared herself for the outburst she knew was coming. This was precisely why she hadn't told him about her job yet, he was far too overprotective of her and she knew he'd fight her about it.

"I'm going out on a recruiting trip."

As soon as the words left her mouth Miles was at her side, his fingers digging into her upper arm tightly. "No," he growled dangerously.

Daryl opened his mouth and Chelsea jerked her head at him sharply, anything he said right now would only make things worse. When his mouth closed with a frown she poked at Miles' fingers on her arm. "First, kindly release me or I'll be forced to prove that I can still kick your ass." There was a moment's hesitation and then the grip on her disappeared, though Miles remained close enough so he could stop her if she tried to leave.

"Thank you." Her response was a glare and she barely managed to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Look, I know I should've told you about this sooner but I didn't want you trying to talk me out of it. Deanna thinks I'll be good at this and I agreed to give it a shot."

"And leaving Nat and me here while you go out and risk your life is okay with you?"

He sounded hurt so Chelsea pulled her brother into a comforting hug. "Of course I don't want to leave you guys, but we need to pull out weight around here and if this is what she wants me to do I don't see any harm in giving it a shot. If it doesn't work out she'll find me something else, but I've got to at least try."

Miles was silent for nearly a full minute before finally whispering, ". . . you'll stay safe?"

"Of course," she replied, and then added jokingly, "And Daryl and Aaron will be there to keep me from doing anything too stupid."

"You mean like getting yourself shot?"

"Please, that was one time," Chelsea grumbled as she threw her hands up in exasperation.

Turning on Daryl when she began to mutter about annoying brothers Miles gave him a serious look. "You'll look out for her?" he asked, though it sounded more like an order than a question.

Not knowing what else to do Daryl gave him a curt nod, but that seemed to be enough for the other man because he smiled and turned his attention back to his sister without another word.

"How long will you be gone?"

Unsure of the answer herself, Chelsea looked at Daryl questioningly.

"Ain't more 'an a week usually."

Miles didn't seem thrilled with the answer but thankfully didn't say anything else and Chelsea threw her arm around his shoulders for one last quick squeeze before moving back towards the door. "Tell Natalie I'll be back soon," she said before stepping outside.

When Daryl moved to follow her Miles stepped in front of him blocking his path. "She comes back in one piece." The 'or I'll hold you responsible' was left unsaid but came across loud and clear and Daryl tipped his head in acknowledgment.

"Well alright then." Spotting Chelsea at the base of the porch he called out, "Have fun, kill lots of zombies . . . and bring me back some decent beer!"

Without turning around she waved a hand over her shoulder and went to join Aaron at the small blue car out front. The other man smiled in greeting before opening the passenger side door and holding out his hand.

"I'll take your bag," he offered, motioning for her to take a seat.

"My, aren't we the gentleman," she replied with a grin. "Opening doors and helping with my things, you sure know how to spoil a girl don't you." Batting her eyelashes she joined in when Aaron chuckled at her behavior.

"It's a tough job but someone has to do it." And then with a sideways glance in Daryl's direction he playfully added, "Of course some people just aren't man enough."

With something suspiciously close to a snort Daryl threw himself into the backseat with a noncommittal grunt.

Aaron and Chelsea shared a grin at his expense when a muttered "Let's get goin'," met their ears and Chelsea handed over her pack before spinning around to give her brother one last parting wave. They both had forced smiles on their faces, neither willing to show how hard it was to part, and she dipped her head in silent agreement that she'd come back to him.

"Safe travels," Miles called out, his cheerful demeanor returning as he gave them a friendly wave.

Slipping into her seat Chelsea replied cheekily, "Try not to destroy the place while I'm gone!" Slamming the door on his sputtering she turned towards Aaron who'd gotten in beside her once he'd secured her bag in the back.

"So where we headed, boss?"

"A few days drive east," he said, shifting the car into gear. "There are a couple of large food warehouses over that direction so we might find a group of survivors nearby."

Nodding she settled back in her seat as they pulled out of the driveway and slowly made their way to the gate.

Not long after they'd left the complex Aaron put a CD in and started humming along to the oldies that softly played through the speakers and Chelsea allowed her eyes to drift closed. They shot open a few minutes later when the car swerved to avoid a corpse in the road, but once she'd made sure the immediate vicinity was clear they slipped shut once again.

She must've drifted off at some point because the next thing she knew they were pulling off the road for a pit-stop.

"Have a nice nap?" Aaron asked as soon as the car was parked.

Covering a yawn behind her hand Chelsea nodded. "I did, yes. I hope I didn't disturb you guys."

"Oh no you were perfectly fine," Aaron said at the same time Daryl muttered "Ya snore."

Tossing an empty bottle over the seat at him Aaron shook his head. "She does not," he said with a roll of his eyes as he pushed open his door. "You're just annoyed that you had to sit in the back."

When he didn't deny it Chelsea found herself offering, "We can change up if you want. I don't mind the backseat." A dismissive shrug was her only response and she pinched the bridge of her nose while climbing out of the car.

Daryl joined them outside and stretched his arms over his head before grabbing his crossbow and slinging it over his shoulder. "'m gonna go check the area." Without waiting for either of them to respond he took off in the direction they were heading, his head swiveling this way and that in search of any possible threat.

Watching him walk away Chelsea turned to Aaron curiously. "Is he always like this when you go out?"

Aaron shook his head. "Cranky? Not usually, but then Carol did say he'd been up most of the night pacing."

"Pacing? Why, was he worried or something?"

He'd thought the reason behind Daryl's odd behavior was fairly obvious, everyone could tell the man felt . . . something for her even if he himself wasn't aware of that fact, and it took him a moment to realize that she wasn't just messing with him. Chelsea really had no clue.

Knowing that one, it wasn't his place to say anything, and two, even if it were now was definitely not the time to do so, Aaron simply gave her a knowing smile and turned to stretch his legs.

Not entirely sure what to make of the smile Chelsea decided to let the subject drop. It wasn't like it was any of her business anyway, and besides, she had more important things to think about than Daryl's strange behavior.

Like what to do about the group of corpses heading their way.

"Um, Aaron."

"I see them," he replied quietly as he crept slowly back towards the car.

Chelsea spotted Daryl jogging in their direction as she was sliding into the front seat and she sent a questioning glance Aaron's way.

"We've still got a couple of minutes before we have to move," he answered her unasked question. "If he's not here shortly we'll pick him up on the way."

As it turned out she needn't have worried, Daryl made it back with plenty of time to spare and they soon found themselves back on the road leaving the group of walkers in the dust.