Chapter Twenty Seven

"Only use guns when necessary," Rick hissed, leading the patrol. "Not too much noise, I suspect this cell block will be overrun with walkers."

"Just like the rest of them then." Thomas muttered and he and Big Tiny sniggered. Rick shot them a glare before shushing them quiet.

The corridor we were currently walking down had been cleared out a week or so before and lead us to Cell Block A which we intended to clear out today. Though we knew that this corridor had already been cleared, Rick told us to remain cautious and keep noise to a minimum.

I was barely surprised when I was chosen to join the patrol, having been on quite a few of the run outs to clear the prison. Joining me were the usual suspects; Rick, Daryl, Shane and Glenn - the latter having recovered nicely from his injury on the first day here. As well as Thomas and Big Tiny from the four prisoners. The rest of the group remained behind in our cell block, locked and secured and waiting under T-Dog and Herschel's commands.

Rick lead the group, as usual, with Daryl by his side and as lead scout. Then Thomas and Big Tiny with Shane close behind, his main role - keeping an eye on the pair of them. Glenn and I fell behind, watching the back.

"Cell Block A should just be round this corner." Big Tiny murmured, catching Rick's attention. The group was brought to a halt and Daryl was sent around to check. Glenn and I shared a look as we waited, both of us visibly shaken by what we were about to do. Finally, Daryl whistled sharply and the group moved forward.

"Door ain't locked, but it don't seem like anythin's made an attempt to get in or out." Daryl muttered and Rick nodded.

"We'll move in then when I say-" Rick didn't get very far.

Thomas and Big Tiny let out a pair of battle cries before charging towards the door and pushing it open. The sounds of rapid gun fire and grunts as the men began to kill the dead inhabitants were heard and their sudden action had startled the rest of us. We glanced at each other in confusion.

"Fuck sake." Shane hissed, getting to his feet and following after them, Rick hissed in frustration and joined him.

"Looks like we better join in." Glenn muttered. Daryl and I shared a look before the three of us followed the rest, discarding all sense of stealth and just aiming rapidly at the walkers, as Thomas and Big Tiny had done.

The first part of the cell block was practically cleared out already thanks to the two inmates, so Daryl urged Glenn and I to follow him as we made our way up a level to the next floor.

Daryl worked efficiently with his crossbow, dropping walkers from every direction. I was surprised at how little I had used my rifle already, having dispatched any walker in my way with my knife. Glenn had taken to bashing them over the head and smashing in their skulls for security. We worked well in our trio.

Between the three of us the top row of cells were all cleared out and we paused to take in the urgency below as the four other members of the patrol were taking out the bottom floor.

"Did you see how they reacted?" Glenn muttered. "Didn't even wait before charging in."

"Look at how they fight." Daryl agreed. "Ain't natural."

I observed the two prisoners as they dispatched walkers brutally and so animalistic like. The smiles on their faces were sickening and it was almost as if they enjoyed the killing. It put me on edge a little and I felt suddenly nervous and wary of the pair of prisoners. Daryl would be jumping for joy if he heard that. Judging by the look he shot me though, I gathered he knew how I was feeling.

"C'mon." Daryl sighed, nodding to a secure door further down the landing away from all the cell doors. "Must be where the guards are."

Upon first attempt, the door wouldn't budge. Daryl shoved against it but it still wouldn't heed. After another three more tries he turned to Glenn and together they threw their combined weight against it as I stood back, keeping watch incase of stray walkers that snuck up on us. The door opened and the pair of them staggered inside, only to back out again. Glenn suddenly began to heave over the balcony and I raised an eyebrow at Daryl, who was grimacing.

"Guards have already been taken care of." Daryl muttered, placing his crossbow down briefly as he took hold of his sleeves and tugged, ripping them free and exposing his arms. I scoffed.

"Pretty sure that was your only sleeved shirt." I pointed out. "Lori won't be pleased when she sees." Daryl smirked a little before wrapping one sleeve around his mouth and nose, then throwing the other to me. I copied his actions and tied his shirt sleeve around my lower face, trying not to take in his scent too much, before following Daryl into the room.

"I'll wait out here." Glenn called weakly and I glanced over my shoulder to see a green faced Glenn. "You guys go on ahead." I snorted and gave the kid a thumbs up before venturing further inside.

Inside the room, I realised why Glenn was feeling so queasy. Dead bodies lay everywhere, decaying and rotting. You would have thought being in the world we were in now, we would be used to the stench of death, but this was so overpowering. Daryl's sleeve made it bearable to breath, but it still lingered in my nose. These bodies had been here a while. Bullet holes were in each one of their heads, I noticed, and I realised that these guards had taken the liberty of killing themselves rather than letting themselves turn. Smart? Blood was splattered everywhere, on the floor and the walls, and there was a sickening crunch under my boot as I unintentionally stepped on one of the body's scattered skull and brain. I swallowed down the vomit and looked over to where Daryl was nudging one with his boot.

"Opted out by the looks of it." He stated, meeting my gaze.

"They were smart enough to." I said, though was greeted by a replying snort.

"Ain't smart, it's cowardly." Daryl muttered and I raised an eyebrow. "At least they had the decency to shoot themselves in the head, save us the work." I didn't reply and instead observed the rest of the room.

It was quite big, with a row of lockers on the far wall, some open and revealing black bullet proof vests, batons and riot shields. Some of the bodies were wearing the riot gear and I decided that they'd sure come in handy when clearing out the rest of the prison. Not flattering, but incredibly useful. A battered sofa, untouched with blood, stood beside a kitchenette type area. Nothing special, just a coffee maker and a microwave, both probably not in use anymore. Another door was behind it, which looked more secure than the last and I was curious to know what was behind it.

What drew my attention the most though was the row of monitors along another wall, facing into the cell block. I approached them and pressed a few keys. None of the blank monitors heeded and I wiped my hand on my jeans to get rid of the dust and blood that I had picked up.

"CCTV?" I asked, my voice muffled from the sleeve tied around my face. I heard Daryl approach and felt his presence beside me. "Not working though."

"Power ain't on, that's why." He told me. "Could come in use if they were."

Outside the gunfire had ceased and I heard the sounds of Glenn calling down to the others to bring their attention to what we'd found. It wasn't long before Rick and Shane made their was inside the room, only to shy away from the strong stench of death.

"Got anymore sleeves." I muttered, glancing up at Daryl. He sniggered and Rick and Shane tried again, holding a hand to their faces.

"Everything clear downstairs?" Daryl asked. The pair of them observed the room and Rick nodded.

"Would have gone a lot smoother if they hadn't done what they did." Shane muttered, poking at a body with the barrel of his shotgun. "The fuckers." I raised an eyebrow at his comment but said nothing of it. Their attention was drawn to the row of monitors pretty quickly.

"Gonna need to get the power up 'nd runnin' if we want 'em to work." Daryl told them as they queried over the CCTV. "A whole lotta monitors, means a whole lotta cameras all around the prison."

"That would definitely boost security." Rick murmured, his eyes then drawn to the door in the back corner. "You checked that room?" When we shook our heads, Rick nodded to each of us and Daryl urged me to follow him over to the door.

I pulled hard on the handle as Daryl stood back, ready to shoot anything behind it, though the door wouldn't tug open. I tried again, but the door was firmly shut, so I glanced over my shoulder at the hunter with a shrug. He observed the door for a moment before walking over to the nearest body and tugging something free from around it's neck. He returned and held it out to me.

"Gotta use a guard's security tag to get in." He muttered, pointing to the locking system on the handle of the door. I nodded, feeling a little dumb at my efforts, and did as expected. I was thankful when I heard a click as the door unlocked. With one final glance at Daryl, I took hold of the handle and pulled the door open hard.

Daryl charged inside in an instant and I waited by the door, the rifle aimed inside. I couldn't made out anything though as it was pretty much in total darkness. I waited for the sounds of snarling and a crossbow firing, but I heard nothing, and it wasn't comforting. I swallowed hard.

"Daryl?" I asked, my voice trembling. Oh God, please be alright.

There was a pause before the hunter suddenly appeared, his eyebrows burrowed. He met my eyes briefly before turning to Rick and holding up a couple of almost new looking rifles.

"Found the armoury."

Morgan drove us down a couple more blocks before bringing the car to a halt at the edge of the curb. When the engine died, Morgan and Duane got out and I had no option but to follow. The streets were just as deserted as the last, though a lot more bodies were scattered on this one. I eyed up and down the street before turning my attention to my new companions.

Duane stood by his father as Morgan pulled a couple of large sacks out of the back of the car. I felt a little unnerved as I eyed the boy holding a weapon, it didn't look right in his hands. Too big and grown up. But I knew that I should get used to the sight. Kids with weapons and that knew how to defend themselves would be the ones who strived in this new world. The dead wouldn't be lenient just because they were children. Their childhood would be lost to the dead now.

"C'mon." Morgan urged, shutting the boot and making his way up towards the house we were parked in front of, his son trailing after him. I hesitated a little before following.

When we were all inside, Morgan shut and locked the door before barricading it up with wooden planks and nails. I wondered to myself if he went through the same exercise every time they wanted to leave the house. I glanced around the room I was in, there was barely any furniture apart from a mattress on the floor. All of the windows looked strongly barricaded and when I glanced into the next few rooms it was much the same story.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. Morgan had finished with the door and had made his way into another room - a dining room perhaps? - where he dumped the sacks on a wooden table. I followed and lingered in the doorway.

"Pretty much since the outbreak." He told me.

"Did you live here?" I continued. Morgan shook his head.

"Lived a few blocks back, but it got ransacked in the chaos. My wife and I got all we could, took Duane and ran." He paused to open one of the sacks up. Inside were cans of fruit, beans and various other food products. "The streets weren't very safe though so we found an empty house and secured every way in. All of the ground floor windows are secure, nothing has ever got in. The front door is only way in or out but, like you saw, that's secure too."

"Looks like you've got things fortified pretty well." I muttered, Morgan smiled a little.

"We've survived this long like this." He nodded. "It seems to be working for us." There was a pause and I remembered Morgan mentioning his wife in his explanation. A wife that seemed currently absent. I glanced over my shoulder to see Duane sat on the mattress, close by, stroking Toby and I decided it would be best to wait before going down that route.

"Did you ever think about going to Atlanta? You know, after the Sherriff?" I brought up. Morgan nodded once.

"After not hearing from him, I never had much hope. I've been thinking about other places to go instead. When the cop was with us, he spoke about another place briefly, a place called Fort Benning. We didn't give it consideration when he was here because Atlanta seemed to be the main strong point. After the cop though, I've been thinking more on it." He paused to sigh. "But I haven't gotten around to leaving yet. It's a long journey which would be hard enough and I'm not sure I want to put Duane in that much danger when I don't even know if Fort Benning is safe."

"Well," I began, swallowing hard. "I guess I might as well break it to you." Morgan glanced up at me. "Fort Benning ain't safe anymore. It used to be, but a friend of mine, someone I used to travel with, said it had been overrun when she got there." I paused to let the news sink in, expecting a downhearted response. All I got was a long exhausted sigh and a nod of the head.

"Ain't the best news I've heard, but thank you." He said. "I guess I'm glad we came across you, could have gotten ourselves killed if we'd tried Fort Benning." I smiled.

"Glad to be of some use, it's the least I can do."

The armoury was the jackpot. I had overheard the men discussing the low supply on ammo and finding it had been a large sigh of relief.

It was decided that the weapons would be left in the security of the armoury and all the tags from the guards were gathered up and given to Rick who said he would distribute to those he thought deserved them when they had cleaned up Cell Block A of all the bodies.

"You know," Shane began during the clean up. "This cell block is a lot bigger than ours, perhaps we should move into this one?" Rick thought for a moment, glancing around at the cell block.

Shane was right, it was a lot bigger. Probably twice as big. Like ours, the cells were all on one wall with barred high windows on the opposite. Two staircases lead up to the landings overlooking the cell block above and the upper floor cells. A single platform was held up above the block, across the middle, probably as a lookout platform for the guards. The guard's room itself had bullet resistant glass - discovered curtsey of Shane's shotgun - that also looked out across the cell block. The main floor of the cell block itself had it's own common room like layout, like the other, with benches and tables around, some overturned thanks to the chaos but it could be established nicely. Plus it was a lot closer to the kitchens than the last one and there was also a corridor that connected to the exit out we had been using onto the prison yard. Not to mention all that came with the guard's room, Cell Block A seemed a lot better equipped for our needs.

"I agree." Glenn nodded. "Plus when we find the generator and start the prison's power, we'll have the security feed. It'll be a lot easier to access if we were in this cell block. Save us moving back and forth, because we're not sure how secure those corridors are really and we don't want to be moving around a lot. Especially alone." Rick nodded thoughtfully.

"We finish with the bodies and bring the others over here, see what they think." He told us finally. "It has to be a group decision."

After disposing of all the bodies outside and letting them burn, Daryl and Glenn left to get the others, while the rest of us remained behind in the cell block. Shane and Big Tiny were getting to work with the ground floor, returning tables and benches to the upright positioning. It was becoming a bit more 'homely' now.

"You have any idea where the generator is then?" Rick asked Thomas as the inmate took rest on one of the benches. Thomas shrugged.

"Ain't something we prisoners had knowledge of." He muttered, and I noticed Rick's eyes narrow a little at his tone. "My guess would be that it's nearby. I mean, the guard's were functioning quite heavily up there." He pointed unnecessary up at the guard's room. "The power source should be nearby." He shrugged and looked increasingly bored with the conversation. Rick nodded stiffly and wandered away, leaving the prisoner alone. I followed.

"We need to find the generator room, get the power working again." Rick told me in hushed tones. I sighed.

"Gotta remind you that we haven't found a substantial infirmary yet." I muttered in reply. "And you have a pregnant wife who's gonna be in need of some medical attention in months to come. Are you sure we shouldn't make that our priority before trying to find the generator room?" I tried to make my tone light-hearted, my input was merely a suggestion as I didn't want to make out that I was questioning Rick's role as leader.

"I know, I know," Rick nodded. "But if we get those security cameras running then that gives us a bigger advantage when clearing the rest of the prison out. We can have a look at what we're getting into rather than going in blind and getting one of us killed."

"That's not happened yet though." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but with a place this size, the chances are pretty high." He muttered. I nodded, seeing his point. "We'll wait to discuss it with the others though, I don't want to jump into this before talking with them. Herschel especially, regarding Lori's condition." He sighed before turning towards me fully and raising an eyebrow. "How'd it go last night anyway?" I was startled by his question and struggled to answer for a moment.

"I made up with him." I shrugged. "Turns out he just needs a little sulking and someone to shout back for him to snap out of his pissy attitude." Rick smirked and laughed a little.

"Good; wouldn't want you two annoyed at each other when I need you both strong and working as a team at times like this." He told me. I raised my eyebrow at Rick though my attention was taken as the rest of the group arrived, Daryl leading them.

When I turned back to Rick, he smiled at me before making his way towards the group. I hung back, gazing around the cell block once more, thinking about how this could be our new home soon and wondering if the beds would be as comfy as the last.

"Hey Ruby." I looked down to see Sophia smiling up at me. I reached forward and stroked her head, bring her close and letting her hug me around the middle. "I'm glad you're safe."

"I always am I aren't I, darling?" I smiled, hugging her to me. She nodded and pulled away. "Do you like it here?" She glanced around the large cell block with an undistinguishable expression.

"It's very big." She pointed out and I laughed a little at her obviousness. "Are we going to be moving here?" I shrugged.

"Depends what everyone wants." I told her. She turned to stare up at me.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Well," I began, thinking a little. "I want to move here. It's a bigger space for us all and you see up there." I pointed at the guard's room. Sophia nodded. "Well, up there we've found a bunch of security monitors which will show us footage from cameras all over the prison." She stared almost in disbelief. "We can watch over things, make sure everything is alright. When we get them working of course." I paused and judged Sophia's reaction. "What about you though? Do you like the look of it? Would you want to move here?" Sophia paused before taking my hand in hers and smiling up at me.

"If you think we should, then so do I." She grinned and I chuckled a little, giving her hand a squeeze.

Rick explained the situation to the group as diplomatically as he could. Shane made his inputs of course, swaying towards moving out of Cell Block C into A. Almost immediately the group questioned the generator run, the point I had brought up with Rick being brought up again by, surprisingly, Andrea.

"Shouldn't we find the infirmary first?" She asked, folding her arms. "I mean, we've managed in the dark and without power for a month, but look at Glenn. After that first run, it was a miracle his wound didn't get infected because we didn't exactly provide much to treat it. Surely we should be aiming to find medical supplies before something happens that's more serious?"

"There's cameras-" Shane began, but got cut off.

"We've managed without before." Andrea muttered.

"But now we have them, don't you think we should use their potential?" Rick asked. Andrea didn't reply straight away so Rick continued. "Medical supplies are short, I know, but finding the generator room will give us power of the prison. Not just working cameras. Lights in the corridors, makes it harder for walkers to sneak up on us. Electricity in the kitchens, maybe we'll be able to make substantially cooked food with the toasters and microwaves." The group shared a small chuckle at the comment. "I think that-"

"Why don't you just do both?" Carl piped up suddenly, cutting his father off. The attention was turned to him. "I mean, why can't some look for the generator room and some for the infirmary?" There was a pause of silence.

"Kid's gotta point." Shane muttered.

"It's not that hard to figure it out." Carl smirked. Rick stared at his son thoughtfully before sighing.

"Before we even decide that though, what's the decision about moving? Are we staying in C or moving into A?" Rick asked, his eyes gazing across everyone.

The decision was made practically immediately that we would move into A. It wasn't a difficult decision really. It made a lot more sense and the group moved back to gather up belongings and the move was official. It didn't take too long, as we didn't own a lot of stuff.

Glenn and T-Dog would take watch in the guard tower for the night, taking food and one of the walkie talkies with them that had been found in the guard's lockers. It was tested once they got there and when Rick was satisfied that the walkie talkies worked, the door into the cell block was locked and secured for the night.

Morgan told me that they held up in the main room, rather than upstairs, though said I was allowed to sleep upstairs if I wished. There were beds in the bedrooms that I could sleep in and when I asked Morgan why he and Duane didn't sleep in them, he told me that he didn't wish to sleep in a dead man's bed. The comment unnerved me, but I reminded myself that I had been using "dead men's beds" ever since the outbreak, so surely another wouldn't hurt my record. I bided goodnight to the pair and thanked them for taking me in before trailing upstairs with Toby.

I took a simple looking bedroom, perhaps a spare room when the house was occupied before. The furniture was dusty but I didn't mind. Toby lay on the rug at the end of my bed, already content by the time I had even dumped my bags. Before getting into bed, I ventured over to the small window in the room and pulled back the curtains a little.

I wasn't surprised when I saw staggering bodies in the streets but I was surprised at how the sight didn't unnerve me so much as expected. None ventured too close to the house, none even realised our existence and that was fine by me. The night would be content so long as they didn't know we were here. I let the curtain fall back, deciding that I had looked long enough at the dead, then got into my bed for the night and crawled under the covers.

Before falling asleep, I thought of Morgan and Duane - my lodgers for the foreseeable future. I pondered their hospitality and wondered why they were so willing to let me without knowing me. I found it odd that they hadn't questioned me more, held that gun to my head a little longer, perhaps even taken my weapons from me. But no. They were so trusting and they had even let me into their home.

I reminded myself quickly that not everyone was like the Governor and my last group - not everyone had something to hide. My trust was still struggling to cope with it all though and I lay in bed that night with my gun under my pillow. Just to be safe.

The cell block was a lot more eerie than our last. The larger space provided a lot more echoing which wasn't particularly comforting when on watch.

It was my turn and I was sat on the platform, facing the wall of cells, my eyes darted amongst the darkness. Moonlight from the windows behind provided enough light to see if anyone got up and left their cells, but I was currently trying to make out where everyone's cells were. So far, I just about worked out which Sophia lay in. It was on the top floor - as Sophia requested - and was set apart from the rest. Though everyone was like that. With the extension of space, people had chosen cells away from each other to create a little privacy.

To keep myself mildly amused, I had my knife in my hands and had the point in the middle of one of my palms while the other hand twisted the blunt of the weapon. I didn't press hard enough to cause too much damage but enough to puncture skin no doubt and leave me with a little pinprick of blood. An odd activity of amusement.

Footsteps alerted my attention and I jolted my gaze away from the knife in my hand and towards the area they came from. My eyes landed on the stairs where a blonde figure was making their way up. I watched as Andrea sauntered across the landing of the upper part of the cell block towards the middle jut off that lead towards the platform I was currently sat on.

I wondered why she was up, it wasn't her turn next on watch. Perhaps she had gotten confused as she was very clearly making her way towards me and I was very sure it was Daryl who would be relieving me next, not Andrea. I raised an eyebrow as she approached.

"I know it isn't my turn." She said, once she reached me. "But I came to keep you company." Andrea sat down nearby and smiled at me. I smiled in return.

"Where were you at the start of my turn?" I muttered. "I'll be relieved in a bit by Daryl anyway." Andrea shrugged.

"I can keep you company whilst you wait for him." She replied, eyeing me in an odd way. I lay my knife aside, deciding that puncturing my skin wasn't such a great activity of amusement in company. "How was your ordeal last night anyway?" I frowned a little.

"It wasn't an ordeal." I muttered before shrugging. "Wasn't as bad as I expected anyway. Daryl couldn't stay pissed for too long." Andrea stared thoughtfully for a moment and I studied the look on her face, not liking it very much. "What?" I demanded after a while.

"I was just expecting some details." She told me.

"Details?" I frowned. "Were you expecting me to run you through the conversations word for word?" She shook her head, smirking a little.

"It wasn't the conversation that I was interested in." Her tone had suddenly gone a way that I didn't expect and it didn't take me too long to get what she was implying. It also didn't take too long for the images of what happened the morning after the watch to creep up into my head, after I had increasingly tried to ignore them.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what you were expecting, but nothing happened." I replied, glad it was dark enough that Andrea wouldn't see my reddening cheeks. Her smirk practically glowed though.

"Really? Because it just seemed like a perfect opportunity. Alone in a guard tower, just the two of you, for the entire night. I mean, yeah you were both pissed but I guess that could have led to after argument sex-"

"Wow, alright!" I cried. "You need to stop talking now!" Andrea laughed and I glared at the woman. "Nothing happened." She held up her hands in peace.

"Alright, I believe you." She said. "Just saying that I would have taken that opportunity."

"Well, I'm not you." I muttered. "I'm not up for casual sex with anyone."

"And you're saying I am?"

"You implied it." We regarded each other for a moment and I had noticed how the smugness had faded from Andrea's face now. I wondered if I had pissed her off, but decided that I didn't really care that I had after her comments so far. Her obnoxiousness kind of reminded me of Merle.

"I envy you sometimes, you know." She said after a long silence, her voice gone quiet. I frowned at this, silently asking her why with my expression. "You've adapted so easily to this new world, you've survived through so much." She swallowed hard. "I tried to kill myself after Amy, my sister, died. I wanted to give up because of it. But you just seem so much stronger than that. I mean, you lost your sister too-"

"Yeah, but my sister isn't dead." I cut in quickly, keeping my tone soft. Andrea's eyes widened a little at my confession. "She's with the other group, the one that ambushed the farm." I chewed my lip thoughtfully for a moment. "She was screwing the Governor and refused to come with me when we had the chance of freedom. Then she betrayed me by telling him and they've been hunting me down like a dog ever since." I shook my head. "I'm not as strong as you think I am, Andrea."

"You are." She nodded. "And the group see that. They trust you more than they do me for starters."

"I don't think they do-"

"They do!" Andrea insisted. "Look how many times Rick lets you come along on the prison run outs. How much they've accepted from you after everything, how they've trusted you to watch over them, even now, when you've been with us less time than myself."

"It can't all be about time spent together." I pointed out.

"Exactly, and that's what point I'm making. You were like the tourist of the group, the stranger, and now look at you! So firmly in the group."

"Andrea, this is starting to sound like you're jealous-"

"I am!" She laughed. "But it isn't a bitter jealousy, because I understand. I mean, I'm just as bad as the rest, befriending you from the word go!" I smiled a little. "I guess I'm just trying to say that you should give yourself credit, cut yourself some slack. You've made a point, you've earned your place. You don't have to prove yourself."

You don't have to prove yourself to that asshole. Daryl's words a month ago spoken echoed in my head. I shrugged.

"Guess I just think I've got a lot of catching up to do." I muttered. Andrea smiled and stared at me, studying my silently.

"And I didn't mean to sound rude before about what happened last night with Daryl." She said finally.

"Thanks but again nothing did happen." I muttered and Andrea chuckled a little.

"I guess I'm also jealous that you've got someone like Daryl to watch over you too." She shrugged and I narrowed my eyes.

"He watches over the group, not just me." I told her, firmly. Andrea shrugged again and rose to her feet.

"I think he's watching you a little more closely." She smiled, turning to leave.

"I thought you were keeping me company?" I asked and she glanced at me over her shoulder with a growing smirk.

"I've suddenly decided that I'm very tired." She said before turning on her heels and sauntering back down the landing towards the wall of cells.

As she was, I noticed another figure making their way across the top floor and I recognised them immediately to be Daryl taking over for watch. I glanced back at Andrea with a suspicious gaze and wondered if she had saw he was coming. Who was I kidding, of course she had! I didn't catch the comment Andrea said to him as they passed each other, but I caught the frown on Daryl's face as he continued across the landing and towards me. I smiled slightly at his approach.

"The fuck that woman doin' up?" Daryl muttered when he reached me. "Looks like she was upta no good." I shrugged.

"She was just keeping me company." I told him. Daryl scoffed.

"She ain't the best company to be keepin'." He replied and I raised an eyebrow.

"And you could keep better?" I retorted.

Daryl stopped for a moment, his face thoughtfully before he shrugged, a little bashfully, and smiled - again with the smile, not the smirk or the grin. It brought back more memories from this morning and I could practically feel the burning of his touch of my cheek again and the intensity of his gaze. I wondered if perhaps we would encounter a moment like that again and decided that I wouldn't complain if we did. That made me question my opinion of Daryl.

"Off with ya." Daryl muttered, holding his hand out to help me up. I took his hand obligingly and he pulled me to stand. "Time for bed, girl." I nodded, a yawn brewing.

"Goodnight." I smiled, making my way past him to leave, though Daryl's hand grabbed my arm before I could. What was with us and grabbing each other?

I turned to the hunter, my stomach suddenly spinning uncontrollably and the feeling of his touch made my body tingle a little. I raised my eyes to his gaze and wondered if I would see that same intensity that I saw that morning. I saw something that was for sure, though it wasn't the same as before. Though I guessed the situation had changed and that had it's effects.

Daryl frowned a little before holding his hand up to show me his palm. When I glanced down at it, I saw it was red. With blood?

"You're bleeding?" I asked, worried he was hurt. He shook his head.

"You're bleedin'." He muttered, twisting my hand up so I could see. It was the palm I had been jabbing with my knife before and was surprised at how much blood was there now. My eyes widened a little and I wondered if perhaps I had cut deeper than I meant to without realising. "What ya do?"

"I cut myself." I replied quietly, leaving the ambiguity to the sentence, and Daryl sighed, reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out a piece of cloth with I recognised to be one of his shirt sleeves that we had used to cover our faces earlier that day. Daryl ripped the sleeve in half and deposited one of the halves back into his pocket before taking my hand again. I watched Daryl's expression as he wrapped up my hand with his sleeve, taking in the way he avoided my stare and how his eyebrows burrowed with concentration.

"You're making this look more serious than it actually is." I pointed out and I congratulated myself when he smirked.

"Don't want ya bleedin' everywhere, this place has enough blood." He replied, meeting my gaze and tightening the makeshift bandage.

"Well, thank you anyway." I smiled. "You'll give Herschel a run for his money soon." Daryl scoffed.

There was a moment of silence and I realised that Daryl still held onto my hand and was keeping hold of my gaze. I swallowed hard, not wanting to guess what his gaze meant and gaze his hand a quick squeeze before pulling it out of his grip. My hand felt cold when I did and I suppressed a sigh at my soppiness.

"Goodnight, Daryl." I said finally, smiling. I turned to go, though stopped. "Unless I'm bleeding anywhere else that you'll need to bandage up for me?"

I raised an eyebrow teasingly and Daryl smirked. His eyes racked over my body and he gestured with his hand for me to turn around. I obliged but felt increasingly subconscious as I did, my cheeks were burning, and I could practically feel his eyes scanning over me.

"Nope, ya good." He said when I'd done a full turn. "Off ya go 'fore I have to drag ya back to your cell." I raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"Drag me?" I muttered. "Seems a little barbaric." Daryl's smirk widened.

"Then I'll carry ya." He retorted with a shrug. I didn't like the way I was attracted by the idea and decided it really was time to go.

I waved the hunter goodbye and made my way across the landing and back towards my new cell for the night. I had trouble trying to remember and passed it twice before finding a snoozing Sophia inside one. I sighed with relief, glad that I wouldn't be wandering the cell block lost all night.

Before going inside, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Daryl had barely moved an inch on the platform and still stood where he was before. He was looking over and I waved mockingly at him. I could see his smirk from the door of my cell as he waved back before he took a seat on the platform for the night.

I think he's watching you a little more closely.

(Author's Note): Happy New Yew everyone! Hope 2013 started great for you all! :)

This chapter is kind of a filler, I guess. Nothing really interesting happens, apart from the group moving. It's not my best, I'm afraid! I intend to do some time jumping soon regarding the prison time shift. It seems like I've been doing a lot of day by day accounts in the main part of the story, so I think I'll do some jumping soon. Especially when 9 months needs to be covered for Lori's pregnancy! ;)

I've got loads of ideas for this story regarding Merle and Michonne and the Governor and even Tyreese which I really just want to throw in all at once. Though I'm afraid things will take their time - which I suspect you're all pretty used to regarding this story. So if you're all cool with the long running of this story then awesome, if not then I'm sorry but that's the way it's going to be. I don't think I can write a very good story with events thrown in all together and with romances that start pretty much from the first encounter. Hopefully my Daryl/Ruby establishment is going well. Any thoughts on it?

Thanks again for your reviews, you guys are really great! Please leave a comment on this chapter, I'd like to hear your reactions on it. Was it terribly bad? Increasingly bad? Or did you actually enjoy it? ;) I'll have an update up as soon as I can.