12: alexandria safe zone

The group had officially made it to the Washington, DC area, better known as the DMV back before the turn – DC, Maryland, Virginia. It was very different from what they knew in Georgia, where they were mostly shrouded in nature. This was more like Atlanta, where the streets were filled with walkers and the roads were filled with abandoned cars. There was no way their convoy would be able to get around past this point, so they had to stop.

Rick hopped out of his car to confer with Daryl and Abraham. "We're not gettin' any closer than this," he announced, walking towards them both. "Where exactly are we supposed to be takin' Eugene?"

"He says the last he heard, they were all convened at the Capitol," Abraham answered.

"That's still a few miles away," Rick knew, having been the only one of them that had ever traveled to Washington before. "I think we're gonna have to wait on that until tomorrow. Use the rest of today's daylight to find somewhere to set up camp."

"We pack up all our shit and walk?" Daryl nodded. "Alright."

"I'm really concerned about the amount of walkers that we'll find as we get closer to the city," Rick was already looking around suspiciously. "Think it might be our best bet to head back the way we came. Virginia's a little more rural, so probably safer."

"Sounds like a waste of gas, but all right," Abraham supplied a bit tensely.

"Is there a problem?" Rick squinted at him.

"No, there's no problem. I just-."

"Dad!" His sentence was cut off by Carl yelling out of his car window. "Walkers!"

Rick turned back towards the pileup of cars ahead of them, seeing a small herd ambling their way. It was nothing they couldn't handle, but he needed everyone in position quickly. He banged on the back of their SUV and immediately, Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne piled out of the car. Sasha, Tyreese, Carol, Rosita and Tara followed suit, all of their knives drawn, ready to approach the pack. But before they could even get close enough, a round of shots were being fired and the walkers were going down, one by one.

"Get down!" Rick shouted upon hearing the gunfire. He instinctively went to cover Michonne, the two of them dropping out of sight behind a car, while the others did similarly.

She kept her eyes on their own vehicle, where she could see that Carl was no longer visible. There were no shots near the windshield, so she knew he must have crouched to the floor with Judith. "What the hell," she whispered to Rick, confused as to who could be shooting at them.

Rick was scanning the area for where snipers could be hiding, but found himself at a loss. His first thought was that Gareth had somehow found them to exact his revenge, but that was crazy. They were dead. He had to accept that. "I dunno," he mumbled in frustration, his eyes still searching the foreground. The gunshots came to a cease, and he waited about a minute to make sure more weren't coming. "Everybody all right?" he called out.

"We're fine," Carol answered.

"Yep," Abraham replied.

"We're good," Maggie hissed from the car across from Rick. "We need to get back to our cars."

He knew as much, but he had no idea who they were dealing with, so he was reluctant to make a move. With a long exhale, he checked the bullets in his Python and then looked over to Michonne. "No matter what happens, you stay down."

She couldn't promise that, but she also didn't want to argue with him, so she simply nodded.

"Do not shoot!" he yelled into the air, standing from his crouched position. He slowly moved between the cars, in the direction of where the walkers had just been shot down. "We come in peace," he promised. "But we are armed and we will fight back!"

"We just saved you," a man's voice replied calmly. "We're not here to hurt you."

He turned to the voice, which seemed to be coming from across the highway. "You have guns and we can't see you. Not a good combination."

"Fair enough." A car door slammed and out stepped two men, likely in their mid to late thirties, both slender and quite ordinary looking, aside from the machine guns they were toting. "Now you see us."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Aaron," the blond one called back. "This is Eric."

"When I ask who you are, I don't wanna know your name," Rick answered tersely. "Who are you?"

"You mind if we come across the median?" the dark-haired one, Eric, asked.

"If you put your guns down."

The two of them looked at each other, but didn't decline. "If you put yours down."

"I got eleven other people over here, ready to shoot, so it's not gonna make much of a difference if I put mine down."

"We know," Aaron nodded. "I assure you, we just want to talk."

"You can talk from over there."

They could see that this guy was not going to make this easy, even if they were trying to help him, so they stayed put. "We've been watching you since Richmond," Eric declared. "And before you freak out, we should mention that we're recruiters. This is what we do."

Daryl hopped up from his spot and joined Rick with his crossbow aimed across the highway. "Recruiters for what?" he growled.

The two of them immediately put their hands up in surrender upon seeing Daryl. "We have a community," Aaron spoke quickly. "It's safe. It has walls, it has houses, we have room enough for all of you."

"We've heard this before," Rick rolled his eyes. "We'll pass." He turned to gather his group and get back on the road, but they implored him to stop.

"Maybe you have," Aaron went on. "From what we've seen, you guys are hardened survivors, and I can't even begin to imagine what you've been through. But this… this is real," he promised. "And as much as we see that you probably need us, the fact is, we need you too."

"What do you think?"

Michonne glanced over to Rick's question, unsure of what to say. They had already agreed to check this place out, and she supposed they were savvy enough to find a way out if it did come to blows again, but part of her really hoped that these guys were telling the truth. She was sick of fighting. "I think I'm tired," she smiled at him pensively.

"But should we even go?" They were currently following Eric and Aaron's van to this mystery safe place, but he could detour at any second, if she said the word.

"What's your gut telling you?"

"I think my gut might be broken," he smirked. "I really don't know."

"I certainly didn't get the same vibe from them that I got from The Governor," she offered.

"Yeah…"

"And Gareth was so glib, it was hard to get a read on him one way or another."

"These guys seemed… I don't know," Rick sighed. He wanted to say trustworthy, but that was a very difficult word for him to use at this point. He looked back to Glenn in his rear view mirror. "What do you think?"

Glenn sat forward, scratching his forehead, just as perplexed as the two of them. "I think the thing they have going for them is that they don't let just anybody in. They watch people, they're discriminating about who they even speak to. Just like we were."

Rick nodded. He had noticed the same, which was perhaps why he was more apt to believe these guys. He didn't like the thought of being watched, but if he were recruiting people to join his group, he would have done the same. "How 'bout you, Maggie?"

Her green eyes darted up at him, hesitant to come to any decisive thought. But Aaron mentioned that they had doctors at this place, which she knew Michonne would need sooner than later, and that had to have caught Rick's attention. "I think it can't hurt to check," she offered diplomatically. "We've been in more dire positions than this and gotten out okay."

"That's true." He mimicked the van in front of him, making a left, and checked his mirror again to make sure the other two cars were still behind him. "Must be gettin' close, they said it was mostly a straight shot."

"I'm nervous," Michonne noted quietly.

"Y'all stay alert," Rick reminded them. "For all we know, they could start shooting the second we pull in."

"Way to be optimistic," Glenn noted sarcastically.

"I just don't want any surprises," he countered. He looked to the very back seat, where Father Gabriel was sitting quietly, and Carl and Judith were crouched low, so they couldn't be seen. "You okay, Carl?"

"We're good," he called back.

Soon, they pulled up to a set of ostentatious gates – the kind they would find in some ritzy neighborhood back home. The place was indeed surrounded by walls – high, thick ones, not like the ones at Woodbury that were made up of tires and spare metal. These were made of concrete.

"They've got construction workers," Maggie observed as they passed by. "Wow."

So far, things were just as Aaron and Eric said. It was very much a neighborhood, with houses dotting the streets, kids on bicycles passing by, and even an older woman walking a small dog. It felt like they had entered some kind of alternate universe.

Michonne was frowning. "What do you think?"

"I think I don't know what to think," Rick answered honestly. "This could easily go either way."

They pulled up to some sort of welcome center situated in the middle of the area. It was a house, much like the rest of them, but it was surrounded by its own fence, a car was sitting outside, unlike the rest of the homes, and the door seemed to be open.

"Kids is a good sign, right?" Glenn asked.

"Woodbury had kids," Michonne reminded him. "But generally speaking, probably so."

"We probably won't get shot when we open the door," Maggie agreed.

"Y'all stay here," Rick directed them. "I'm gonna see what this whole 'audition' is about."

"So… what do you think?" Aaron asked as Rick approached the two of them. He noted Daryl wasn't far behind and figured the two of them were probably very close.

Rick continued to survey the property, still in disbelief that a place like this existed. It put Woodbury and their town homes to shame. "I think it all looks too good to be true."

"Well, it's not," he assured them. "The other end of the place isn't secure yet, so there've been breaches. Which is why people like you will come in major handy."

Rick nodded, almost glad to hear that. He wasn't sure he could ever feel comfortable somewhere that seemed perfect.

"Also, all the houses don't get hot water yet. And sometimes, the lights don't work as well as we'd like."

"Y'all got electricity here?" Daryl questioned. "You got generators or somethin'?"

"The government set up solar power grids throughout the city in case something like this ever happened," Eric explained, opening the fence to the welcome center. "We conserve all our energy throughout the day, but there are certain hours where electricity is allowed, yes."

Rick and Daryl looked at each other. They both knew what the other was thinking – they really, really hoped this wasn't too good to be true.

Daryl and Rick had been inside the welcome center for almost an hour, conversing with the leader of the place, an older gentleman named Douglas Monroe. Before the world ended, he'd been a congressman in Ohio, and it was natural for the people there to gravitate toward him when they needed answers. He was a smart man, if not a little aged to be in such an important position, and he seemed sincere. Rick liked him immediately.

The three of them had discussed housing, and the work that they would be required to do in order to maintain their positions there. They explained where they'd been for the past two years, and Douglas expressed his genuine amazement at what they'd survived. He understood exactly why Aaron was so keen to bring them back.

"I won't lie to you," Douglas proclaimed. "You and your people are a valuable commodity in this day and age. I don't have anybody nearly as equipped for this as probably your weakest fighter."

"Two years of constant battle will do that," Rick simpered. "But I promise you, we're not dangerous unless provoked."

"And I can't promise you won't be provoked. This is a community of regular folks, sometimes tempers flare, people get jealous, all that stuff you probably haven't experienced for a while. But I need to know you and your people can play on a team. It can't be you and then us."

"I'll be honest," Rick sighed. "That's gonna take some tme."

"It's been us against the world for a long time," Daryl added quietly. "Ain't gonna go away overnight."

"Can I ask you to try?" The two of them nodded. "Then we shouldn't have any problems, gentlemen."

"I think this might just turn out all right," Rick agreed. "I haven't had this good a feeling in a long time."

"Not since we found the prison," Daryl appended.

As if on cue, there was a sudden commotion outside, with doors slamming and things banging. And then the sound of Michonne's voice over all of it.

"For all I know, they're dead in there!"

"Ma'am, we assure you everything is fine."

"Then let me by." Her demand was followed by a loud knock. Before anyone could get up to answer it, it swung open, and she stood at the entrance, relieved to see Rick and Daryl staring back at her. "You're okay."

"We're fine," Rick chuckled standing from his chair. "Everything's fine."

She let out a big sigh as she crossed the small space between them. "You know you can't stay gone that long and neither one of y'all give us a sign."

"You're right," he grabbed her hand and gave it a quick kiss. "Douglas, I'd like you to meet my wife, Michonne. Michonne, this is the leader here, Mr. Douglas Monroe."

He stood from his seat to offer Michonne a handshake. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Grimes. I've heard a lot about you." He chuckled, seeing for himself that it was obviously all true.

She couldn't help but smile at the fact that he addressed her as 'Mrs. Grimes.' That was the first time anyone had ever done that, and she wanted to hear it again. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she finally returned. "I just had to be sure you weren't in here slicing my family to pieces."

"Oh no, we don't do that in here," he joked with her. "Much too messy."

She smiled again, noting an interesting charm about this guy. She liked him. "Well. Now that I know you're okay, I'll let you get back to it."

"We were just finishing up, actually," he stopped her. "I'd like to interview you next, if that's all right."

"Me?"

"I'd like to speak with you all at some point today. Although," he checked his watch, "I think I may have to continue doubling up if we're gonna get you in some houses before nightfall."

She nodded, looking over to Rick, who seemed to be pretty enthralled by all of this. It was such a beautiful thing to see him with so much hope. "You wanna go get Carl?" she directed to him.

"Is that your son?" Douglas asked Rick.

"It is."

"That's all right, I don't need to interview the children."

"Trust me, sir. Carl isn't a child."

Douglas laughed, already quite intrigued by this Grimes family. When Rick said he was married with two kids, the last thing he pictured as his wife was a black woman toting a samurai sword. His brother, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be a certified redneck, and from what he'd been told, his son was an expert with a gun. He didn't know who these people were, but he was very much looking forward to getting to know them.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your time," he offered his hand to both Rick and Daryl once more. "Welcome to the Alexandria Safe Zone."

After interviews were completed, it was close to 8:00PM. They were speedily assigned fully furnished homes and escorted to their new block, towards the back of the neighborhood. Rick had the biggest family, so he was given the largest house – a four bedroom, which he would share with Michonne, his kids, and Daryl. Glenn, Maggie and Tara would be next door, while Sasha, Tyreese, Carol and Father Gabriel shared a three-bedroom across the street. That left Eugene, Rosita and Abraham for the fourth home, next to them.

Douglas assured them that they were in the middle of an expansion, and once that occurred, there would be more houses for them to spread out. But they were so grateful for the space they'd been given, it was likely they would stay the way they were.

By 10:00, everyone was freshly showered and preparing to sit down to a late dinner in Rick's dining room. He thought it safest if they all slept in the same house the first night, just in case this did end up being some kind of a trap.

Meanwhile, Eugene had finally proven himself useful and spent most of his evening making spaghetti for the group. They'd been given a whole collection of fresh vegetables, so his tomato sauce was from scratch, and he even concocted some garlic bread out of a tin of biscuits. It was a more than welcome change of pace from the dry food they'd been consuming on the road.

"Something smells good," Michonne announced, sauntering her way down her new staircase. She smiled as she approached the mostly full table, as if she were in on a secret the rest of them weren't – and, well, she was. She pulled out a chair for Rick and Carl before sitting down.

They followed closely behind, Rick holding Judtih, and all three of them were startled as the group began a round of applause.

"Very funny," Rick laughed, knowing that their ovation was because he had finally trimmed his beard and cut his hair. He wasn't willing to cut it all off, but even he had to admit he had begun to look a little bit like a grizzly bear.

"Look at that pretty ass face," Abraham shouted teasingly.

"All right, all right," he pretended to accept their mocking praise. "Y'all are quite welcome."

"I almost forgot this is what you look like," Sasha joked with a wink. His shorter curls and stubble brought her back to the Rick she'd first met at the prison. "Michonne, you might wanna finally snatch that up."

"Now wait a minute," Rick protested. "I'm the exact same person I was yesterday."

"Yeah, but you look a lot better," Rosita piped up. "Like, I might even call you hot."

Even Judith seemed to like her dad's new look. As much as she seemed to enjoy playing in his old beard, she was much more engrossed with rest of his face now. "You ladies have no shame," Rick declared, discreetly winking at his wife as he took a seat at the head of the table. "Shall we eat?"

"Rick, if it's all right," Glenn interrupted, "I think we should say grace first."

"Okay…"

"I just think it's something Hershel would do."

Rick nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. That would be nice." He took Michonne's hand, Carl took Judtih's, and everyone followed suit until the entire table was connected with their heads bowed. "Go ahead."

"Father, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank You," Maggie was the one to begin. "Not only for this food, not only for this house, that may or may not be a death trap, but… for each other. We've been through a lot, and we've done some things that You'll probably never forgive us for, but through it all, You've allowed us to do this together. So we thank You for the opportunity to create a family after all of ours were long gone. Thank You for the ability to survive, to persevere, and after all this time, for the ability to hope. We do not take this for granted, Lord, and we will do our very best with this new life You've given us. Thank You… for the love around this table." She looked up to the rest of the group as she finished her prayer. "Amen."

Rick looked around the room, at the people surrounding him, the circumstances surrounding them. They were safe. They were together. Hell, they were in a home with lights, and hot water, and food in front of them. He thought they had it good at the prison, and this was… even better. This was the dream coming true, he realized. And indeed, he was thankful. "Amen."

A/N: I'm hearing rumblings that Andy Lincoln has shaved his beard in real life, so this chapter was apropos, I guess. But I have to admit I'm gonna miss that thing. Rick Grimes' beard game was A+, man. RIP.

On a seriouser note, though, I want to really thank you guys for all your feedback. It is literally the only reason I've been able to update this story so regularly, you guys keep me motivated and inspired. And then you get all philosophical (looking at you, Siancore), and you leave me speechless, so... without getting too, too sappy, please just know how much I appreciate you all. Next chapter is a little fillery, so... I'll try and get it to you sooner than later. -Ashley