"golden slumbers fill your eyes, smiles awake you when you rise, sleep pretty darling, do not cry...and I will sing a lullaby..."

Judith's eyelids fight to stay up but her head lowers on Beth's shoulder, her little fingers gripping on her for support. She's already eaten and the song is supposed to work to make her sleep now. Beth is slowly pacing around the living room of the Grimeses, little Judith in her arms. Things are kind of tense in the community, most of the group is meeting with Deanna at her place to have some sort of trial for Rick. It's crazy to Beth to even consider to kick their leader out, the man that tried everything he could to keep their family safe. Yes, his violent outburst against Pete had been scary and certainly out of line but whatever their problem was she was sure they could fix it. Being in Alexandria without him just wouldn't make sense. Because of the trial thing, she was asked to stay in and take care of Judith and Carl (without making the eldest child feel like he needed it, of course). On one hand she doesn't mind doing that since she absolutely adores Judith, but on the other hand she also wished that they'd let her participate to the hearing instead of reducing her as only the "babysitter". Perhaps they didn't fully realize how much she'd changed.

Beth pauses by the window and glances outside. It's dark, nobody's around. She sighs, wondering if Daryl's on his way back or still in the woods or in some nearby abandoned city. Maybe Aaron and him will return with somebody new. Beth keeps on walking at a soothing pace, cradling Judith while still whispering the song to her. Seems like it's starting to work, it's getting harder and harder for the baby to stay alert.

Beth reaches for the armchair and sits to rest a while. If Judith actually falls asleep then she can take her upstairs to her bed and prepare something to eat for herself. A creaking sound echoes from outside the house. Perhaps it's Michonne or Maggie, coming to give them some news about Rick. The creaking noise continues, it sounds like someone's walking up the steps to the porch.

A bang at the door makes her jump a little, her efforts to get Judith all tired are gone in a second when she snaps her eyes open.

"Shh, shh" Beth murmurs in her ear as she stands up. Carl hurries down the stairs. "What was that?" he asks wary.

Another "boom" noise from the door. "Someone's banging at the door" Beth answers.

"I'll go see who it is" Carl says going for the foyer.

"No!" Beth stops him. Carl turns to her, puzzled. "Take your sister, I'll get the door" she instructs passing her to him before he can counter something back.

She quickly walks to the kitchen and pulls a drawer open. They might have taken all of their weapons but knives can be found in every house. There's a long, sharp one. She takes it and heads for the front door. Beth holds the knob and bursts the door open, keeping strategically behind it. A body stumbles in, hitting the floor. The reek that comes from it and the worn-out clothes reveal that it's a walker. Carl lets out a gasp, Judith starts crying loudly as her eyes land on the strange figure just a few steps from her. The walker is immediately attracted by the noise, he raises his bald head, awful grunts coming out of his mouth, his body regaining balance. He hasn't seen Beth yet, still hidden behind the door, which is good 'cause that way she can come up with the knife and thrust it right in his head. A little blood sprays out and hits Beth's white shirt. The creature falls down, dead at last. She looks at Carl, a startled expression painted on his face as he holds Judith's head so her gaze is on the wall behind him and not on the bloody walker on the floor. So much for Alexandria's safe walls. Beth takes control over the situation. "I'll bring the body outside and check if there are more. You stay there with Judith" she orders.

"No way, I'll put her in her bed upstairs and come help you" he protests already turning for the stairs.

"Carl, I'm in charge here so you'll do as I say" she quickly snaps back in an resolute tone. "What if one gets in from the back door and wanders around the house until they find her? You stay near her, alright? I'll be right back."

Carl reluctantly nods and does as she says.

She stops at the doorway and peeks out to make sure all's clear. No sounds, no one on the front porch. She comes back inside and grabs the walker's legs, dragging the body out using all the strength she can manage. It's not ideal leaving it there like it's garbage but right now she needs to lock herself in and protect the kids. She'll ask question later and hopefully someone will come to help bury the body or burn it. How normal have these actions become? How terrible it is that even in Alexandria they can't let their guards down, ever.

A rustling of leaves catches her attention. She turns around frenetically watching out for a new threat. Another walker, a woman this time, comes out of the bushes, arms stretched forward as she wobbles toward her. Beth holds her grip on the knife and waits until the walker is close enough to kick her against the banister. The woman bangs the back of her head against the column, that's her cue to stab her like she did for the other one. Only it's not that easy this time, the woman bounces back and charges Beth with force, her mouth wide open so her dirty, venomous teeth are showing. The walker's hands try to hold Beth's shoulders, and she has to kick her in the guts to push her away. The walker's on the ground but so is she, the kick made her stumble back. Beth realizes that her knife is gone, she must have lost her grip on it while she was fighting against the woman, who's not even attempting to get back on her feet but crawling toward her. Beth turns around, she's alone and unarmed. That's when she spots a broom leaning against the wall. She quickly takes it and turns it upside-down so the handle enters the walker's head. A final, struggling cry escapes her mouth and then there's only silence. Beth pulls out the blood-covered stick and starts taking deep breaths to regain calm. Her heart is beating fast, it's not the first time she needs to fight for her life but it's been a while. She definitely did not see it coming for the night. Two dead bodies lay on the Grimeses' front porch as she walks back inside. She locks the door right after shutting it closed.

"Was it the only one?" Carl asks coming near her.

She shifts toward him. "Nope, one more"

Little Judith is still sniffling, inspecting the place like some other monster could jump out of nowhere and scare her again. She's still too young to witness such things, too young to understand. The whole point of living in Alexandria was to give her and Carl a chance at a normal life, as normal as possible at least. She runs a hand through her hair. Beth doesn't know why those things made it past the gates but what she's sure of is that it can't happen again.

They lock the backdoor as well and make sure that all the windows are closed, then Beth goes to the kitchen sink and washes her hands. They prepare something to eat for dinner and afterward she does the dishes. A few minutes go by and Carl's not making any sound so she turns around to check on him, only to find him asleep, his head resting on the table. Beth smiles, it's been a long day for him as well with all the worry about his father's destiny. He tries to look all grown up but the truth is he isn't yet. Perhaps when he tried to take over the situation earlier it wasn't because he didn't trust her to protect herself or them, but because he doesn't want to depend on others to fight for him. Just like her. Anyway, she goes over to him and gently shakes him. He blinks several times, looking sleepy. "Carl, go to bed. If your dad comes home I'll send him right upstairs."

He seems uncertain but eventually agrees, dragging his feet across the room and up the stairs. "Goodnight" he waves as he goes.

"'Night" she answers back.

Ten minutes later she's done with the dishes and she's also cleaned the table and got the blood stains off the floor. The round clock on the kitchen wall strikes eleven and she wonders just when Rick will make it back.

"BETH!"

She jumps as she hears a panicked voice outside the house.

Hi! Did you like the chapter? I hope so. I tried my best to describe the fights in a way that would make Beth look tough and cool, it's not my specialty but I'm working on it. In the next chapter (probably the last one) there's also another type of scene that I'm not super familiar with writing down...you'll see! By the way, the song I used at the beginning is Golden Slumbers by The Beatles, I thought it would be a nice alternative to the usual lullabies. Although this fic is almost over I plan to translate a shot I wrote a while back so keep an eye out for it. thank you for reading!