It's Wednesday Night

There was a longer lunch break than Carol would have expected while Rick and Abe discussed their travel routes. Abe was wanting a more direct approach to DC and Rick wanted to keep away from cities. Morgan settled the argument by saying decisively that traveling through congested areas was suicide. Abe relented and they took off again.

Michonne had maneuvered into Morgan into riding with Rick so that she and Judith could ride with Sasha and Carol. Daryl had taken advantage of the opening and got in with Rick and Morgan. Carl rode with Glenn, Maggie, and Beth. Michonne had spent lots of quality time with Rick in the last few days and she felt like she could a rest from all the drama. This was obviously the laid back vehicle. Bob was driving this afternoon and Tyreese had the other front seat. Judith and Carol sat in the second row and Sasha and Michonne took the last seat.

She was surprised at how funny Bob was. He had a snarky sense of humor but never failed to give himself a jab here and there. He was driving and whenever they passed a place that advertised alcohol he pretended to fight the wheel from turning in. He referred to Tyreese as a victim of his own clumsiness and insinuated that he had bruised himself trying to land a punch. He said that Carol was trying to pass for black by painting her face black the night before. Carol had looked at the group quite seriously and said, "What gave me away?"

Sasha had dead panned "Pretty much everything". Everyone howled and Bob told Carol that a few more days in this vehicle and they would bring her into the "tribe".

More humor issued about Michonne's hair "dead locks are so in nowadays" and Sasha's bossiness. (Just do it her way, it is easier in the long run) Judith kept laughing along with the others. The afternoon went quickly and soon they were pulling into an expensive looking farmhouse set far back from the road in a rural area.

The place was deserted and there wasn't a walker in the place. There wasn't much to eat but the place hadn't been trashed. The women took the bedrooms upstairs and the men settled on the first floor. Carol could see it would take a while for this group to become cohesive and she was sure that there was place in it for her. She and Rick had not had a real conversation yet. Would he give her another shitty car and send her on her way? Would she care? She had lost Mika and Lizzie and that pain would never go away. Daryl was part of her past now. She couldn't get past that he had not tried to find her even after the prison fell. He and Beth could live happily ever after for all she cared.

Daryl had fled to the woods. It had been a long afternoon in Rick's vehicle. Morgan and Rick had clashed over Carol. Morgan had stated from the beginning that he was aware of what happened at the prison and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He and Tyreese had talked and they both would leave with Carol if Rick tried to banish her or do anything to hurt her. It was unspoken but understood that Sasha and Bob would leave too. Rick was ticked; Daryl knew he didn't like anyone protesting his decisions. Daryl had been watching Morgan and Tyreese with Carol; both of them were protective of her. She trusted them the way she had trusted him. She would have expected him to come after her as he had when the farm fell and when she had been trapped in the Tombs at the prison. This time he had become caught up in saving the prison. Then he had sunk into a deep depression because he thought Carol and everyone else he loved was dead. The only one left was Beth and he had followed her around like a lost puppy. He was old enough to be her father and he had got drunk with her and acted like an ass. He hadn't protected her either and then when she was taken away he had fallen in with some animals disguised as humans. It was only by chance that he was back here with this group.

Daryl thought about Morgan. He stood up to Rick and Daryl felt shame that time after time he had followed Rick blindly. Would Rick have banished Carol if he thought that Daryl would challenge him? Did Rick just assume that Daryl would go along with it because he always had? Merle had taunted him the last time he saw him at the prison that he didn't have any balls. It was true. He should have made it clear that he would kill anyone who messed with Carol. He should have "claimed" her as his wife so that Rick would have waited until he got back. His punishment for his weakness would be watching another man do for her what he had failed to do.

Daryl stayed out in the woods until it was almost dark. There was a plate of food left for him. Carol, Michonne, and Sasha were on watch and the others were gathered by the fire in the living room. He ate his meal in the kitchen and then took a seat by himself at the back of the room. Beth was sitting by the fire and she came over and sat by him. He knew that the others were noticing that Beth was following him around. A week ago she was dating Zack and he was Carol's "pookie" and whatever the hell a pookie was it had made him happy when she called him that. It had all gone wrong and there was no way to make it right again.

Rick was holding Judith and she was getting sleepy and fussy. She wanted Carol to come and put her to bed. Carol who he had banished had saved his daughter and brought her to him. She and Tyreese had forged an odd connection out there. Carol and Morgan had saved his life and the life of everybody in this room when they took on Terminus. He just wanted it all back the way it had been; the prison was lost and Carol was never going to trust him again. It had all gone wrong and there must be some way to make it right again. He turned to Carl, "I am going to go see if Carol can put Judith to bed now".

He found Carol in the shadows watching the road in front of the house. "Carol, I'll stand your watch if you'll put Judith to bed." Carol took Judith from him and started toward the house. "I need to thank you for taking care of her out there. I never got to make things right with Lori because I let everything else get in the way. I will regret that until the day I die, but if I could go back to that day I would have accepted what you did and took that to my grave. I am sorry."

Carol turned to him as she cuddled Judith close to her, "Rick, I can't undo what I did, but I am going to try some measure of peace for the rest of my life. Good night, Rick". Carol was shaking as she went into the house and Morgan met her at the door.

"Is everything all right, Carol"? His voice is always so kind she thought.

"Yes, I just need to put Judith to bed." She went on upstairs and got Judith into a dry diaper and clean sleeper. Judith smiled sleepily at her and Carol rubbed her back and sang a lullaby to her.

Daryl had watched Morgan follow Rick out of the room. Morgan was the man he should have been and that hurt like a knife to his heart.

Carol went back to do her watch when Judith went to sleep. "Rick, go get some rest in our room. We'll wake you up when we get finished". Rick had nodded. He was exhausted and he wasn't surprised that when he got to Judith's room to find that Carl was already there. They grabbed some blankets from a closet and went to sleep on the carpeted floor close to Judith.

The women had come back to find them still asleep on the floor. The room was getting colder and Carol carefully picked Judith up and settled her between her and Michonne so that she wouldn't get cold. The women nestled on the king size bed and soon they were all asleep.

TWDTWDTWD

The next morning Carol, Michonne, and Sasha cooked breakfast. They decided that they were keeping their eyes open for a place to make a run this morning. Judith needed things and everyone needed warmer clothing. Michonne told Rick and Abe as they went through; she did not ask for permission.

It wound up taking up the morning between finding fuel, clothing, food, and Rick decided that he needed a bigger vehicle. They put a car seat in Rick's new suv and the one Carol was in. That afternoon they ran into blocked highways and walkers and no one napped. It was raining and they took a side road and found a church to spend the night.

The church had been built up on cement blocks so that its windows were seven feet off the ground. The back part had classrooms, rest rooms, and a dining hall with an adjoining kitchen. Morgan and Bob found some lumber in a storage building and covered the windows from the inside. Abe and Rick found water in the nearby creek to flush the commodes. Carol and Sasha used pans that they found in the kitchen to collect rainwater to boil for drinking. Morgan had found a few propane tanks on the run this morning and the church had a gas grill in the storage building. Soon water was heating and they settled in.

It was still daylight when Daryl saw the young man walk down the road. He was armed with a pistol, a long knife, and carrying a book. Daryl drew back his crossbow; there was nothing in this man that could be perceived as a threat. Daryl called out, "Stop there or I'll shoot".

The young man smiled, "Hello, are you here for Wednesday night service?"

Rick and Abe rushed in to point guns at the young man who introduced himself as Elijah James. He lived nearby and came on Wednesday nights to worship God at the church. His parents had brought him to church his whole life and he came every Sunday morning and Wednesday and worshipped alone.

Elijah answered Rick's questions quietly. He had no idea how many walkers he had killed. Yes, he had killed people in self-defense. He was worried that their vehicles were in such plain view and showed them that there was extra parking behind the church. They heeded the warning and moved them immediately. Finally, they allowed him into the sanctuary and when dinner was ready they invited him to spaghetti Wednesday. He did ask if he could say a blessing over the meal before they ate and gave a quick prayer for their continued safety when he asked for God's blessing over the food.

Elijah was average. He was average height, average weight, and had brown hair and blue eyes. He seemed an unremarkable young man of surprisingly good manners. He thanked Carol and Michonne for cooking the food and Michonne saw Carol's involuntary flinch when he called her "ma'am". He and Carl washed the dishes and then Elijah excused himself to go to the sanctuary for Wednesday evening service after inviting all those who wanted to attend to join him.

Rick and Daryl were on watch and Beth had refused to go but everyone else went out of curiosity or piety. Elijah led the service with humor, "The usual order of this service is Opening Prayer, led by me. Scripture reading by me. Congregational music sung by me. Solo sung by me. Closing prayer led by me".

He opened by prayer and read from the book of Isaiah. He played the piano for the congregational song and everyone sang along. He sang "Stand by Me" as a solo and then when pressed by the others he sang more. Elijah for all his ordinariness had a beautiful voice. Beth could hear him faintly from where she was sitting. Sasha and Tyreese sang a couple of gospel songs that they had sang in church. The music called to Beth but she hardened her heart. She wasn't ever going to be weak and sentimental again. She was going to survive.

It had gotten dark during the service and Elijah stayed the night. He sat in the dining hall and had coffee with them. He had just finished high school when this happened and had planned to attend a vocational school in the fall. He liked working on engines and he was good at it. He lived in a little cabin in the woods to avoid raiders and walkers and he hunted a good deal for meat. Daryl liked him; he seemed down to earth for such a religious man. He warned them that a nest of raiders had settled in the neighborhood this past summer but he hadn't seen them for a month.

The next morning they packed up and Elijah went with them. He and Daryl had gone back to his cabin for his guitar and a few clothes. Elijah had went into the church and played one last song before he left, "The Wayfairing Stranger".

AN

Beth has never talked about her time after she was kidnapped to anyone. Don't worry, Bethyl will never happen in one of my stories. How long will Beth resist the adorable Elijah?

Carol flinched when Elijah called her "ma'am" as a homage to Carol's love for Lizzie. They are the walking wounded and not the walking dead to me.

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