AN: Holy typos, Batman! I reread the last chapter and if you love me at all after all the missed words and typos…you're real troopers! That'll teach me to try and write chapters around tons of phone calls and the neighbors' wild parties. Sorry about that. I know they're usually bad, but that was out of control!

Anyway, thank you anyway for forgiving me and still doing your best to enjoy what you could read of the chapter! Ha ha!

I hope you enjoy this little instalment. Let me know what you think! This one is Andrea-centric.

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For Michonne to be as smart as she was, she wasn't always as smart as she needed to be, that was Andrea's perspective at this point.

She was crammed in the backseat of Michonne's car and they were on their way home, their day cut shorter than they'd meant it to be. Luckily they'd found a bedroom set that Carol was happy with early in the day and had it tagged so that Tyreese could take a worker with him and go and pick it up the next day. Andrea had fortunately had enough to pay for it and Tyreese was a big enough sweetheart to take some time off work and pay someone to go with him to move at as soon as possible.

If they hadn't found the bedroom set earlier in the day there would be absolutely no telling when Andrea would move from sleeping on the couch to a bedroom unless she bought a sleeping bag at the super store in town and went with that.

They'd gone to eat a late lunch at a barbecue pit that was pretty popular in the little town they were shopping in, about an hour away from Sweet Junction, and Michonne had decided to share with Carol what she had learned from Rick Grimes the night before.

Andrea had listened, over her pulled pork sandwich, as Michonne had tried to calmly inform Carol that there might be a chance that Ed would be getting out of prison a little sooner than they'd expected. Even as Andrea had heard it her stomach had dropped and she'd lost more than a little interest in her lunch, so she could only imagine what the news was doing to Carol.

Andrea had been fooled about the whole thing until Michonne started talking. She'd thought, obviously incorrectly, that a man like Ed Peletier would naturally do twenty or so years of time for his crimes. That wasn't the case. Apparently five was his sentence…and of course he could always get off earlier on good behavior or parole. That information alone would have been enough to ruin the day for Andrea if she were Carol, but then the thought that someone was trying to get him even less time than that…possibly reducing his sentence to something like six months…that was enough to send the entire day into complete shambles.

Of course, it had been obvious that as soon as Michonne had started talking about it, she realized she'd chosen a bad time to say anything, not that there was going to be a time that was just absolutely ideal to tell the woman that the man who had terrorized her life might have the chance to come back into it.

Carol had held it together, at least, meaning that she hadn't come all to pieces in the Pig Pit with the four or five locals wondering what was happening. She'd said she wasn't hungry, excused herself to the bathroom, and then Andrea had sat there awkwardly with Michonne until they figured it was time to call it a day and drag her out, hoping that she'd calm down.

Michonne had actually thought they were going to continue shopping after that. She'd thought that it might distract Carol. The only thing that distracted Carol was trying to get into the car before she either vomited again or fell to pieces, which she did promptly when the car door closed.

And now they were heading back to Sweet Junction.

Carol was in the passenger's seat in front of Andrea, staring out the window. She'd finally stopped crying, at least. Andrea kept her arms around the back of the seat and from time to time she squeezed at Carol's shoulder muscles trying to get her to calm down.

Michonne was driving with her eyes glued to the road as though it were an obstacle course instead of a fairly empty backwoods highway. Andrea knew that she felt guilty about the whole thing. The issue with Ed wasn't her fault, of course, and the truth was that the news would have hit Carol like a ton of bricks anywhere and at any time, but realistically lunchtime on a day that Carol was excited about was probably not the best choice of times. Andrea knew this and Michonne was realizing it, though in true lawyer fashion she was still trying to talk it down.

"He's not out right now…" Michonne said. "It could take a long time for his case to even get called up…it could be a very long time before anything comes of this, and that's if it even does once he's called up."

Andrea listened to Michonne and squeezed Carol's shoulders. Carol didn't respond. The most she did was move her hand to her mouth every now and again or wipe at her eyes. She continued to stare out of the window.

"Do you know who the lawyer is?" Andrea asked. Maybe all hope wasn't really lost. Michonne seemed to know everyone and she had pretty good influence on everyone that she knew. Maybe she knew this person and could find out if they were representing Ed because they had to or if they were genuinely interested in getting the son of a bitch out of jail.

"He's a man by the name of Philip Blake," Michonne said, her eyes never leaving the road. "He's new around here or something. I've never heard of him but first thing tomorrow morning I'm going to find out who he is."

Andrea felt a quick clinch in her stomach and she knew it wasn't owing to the fine quality of the Pig Pit's food.

"Philip Blake?" She asked. She wanted to make sure she'd heard this correctly.

"Yeah," Michonne said. "The name is familiar, but I racked my brain all night and know I've never been in court with him."

"Philip Blake…" Andrea muttered. The mother fucking creep who had been at the Watering Hole? The asshole who came and tried to sweet talk her ass and showed up like he popped out the fucking shadows at the Korean restaurant? "Michonne…I know who the fuck he is," Andrea said. "Carol knows him too."

Carol jumped a little at her name and Andrea realized that she'd been tuning out the better part of this conversation.

"He's the creepy ass guy that's been coming to the Watering Hole. He drinks fucking scotch on the rocks and sometimes he has a jumpy little nerdy toady named Milton with him," Andrea said. "Fucker said he was here on business but he never said what kind of business. Showed up at the Korean restaurant too. He's a real creepster…always fucking hitting on me and stuff."

Michonne chuckled a little.

"Is he actually creepy or do you typically think that men that hit on you are creepy?" Michonne asked.

Andrea shook her head.

"No, I'm serious. He's creepy. I don't know why either. He's a smarmy asshole type. He seems like he just pops up places…you know like those mafia type people in movies that just show up in damp alleys? That's what the fuck it feels like when he's around," Andrea said.

"Do you know him?" Michonne asked, turning briefly to Carol.

"Remember?" Carol said, softly, her voice shaky. "The man that I was telling you about was freaking Andrea out. We were going to start watching him?"

Andrea could tell by the shift in facial expressions that Michonne was remembering the conversation she'd apparently had with Carol.

"That's where the fuck I know him from!" Michonne spat. "Well, I'm about to get to know him better…you can count on that. You two stay away from him, though, and I mean that. Don't tell him jack shit about anything. If he wants to know what time it is point at a clock. I don't know what this fucker's angle might be in this case and no one wants to give him anything that he can use."

Carol heaved a big sigh and Andrea resumed squeezing at her neck muscles.

They rode home from there in relative silence, finally getting to Carol's house. Andrea was relieved to see that Daryl's truck was in the driveway and he appeared to be tinkering on the bike that Merle had all but abandoned since their split. Andrea figured if anyone could calm Carol down and have a chance of getting her out of the mentality that she'd just as well go home and stick her head in the oven, it would be Daryl.

When Michonne stopped the car, she got out immediately and ducked her head back inside.

"Andrea, can you stay here with Carol a minute? I want to talk to Daryl and I'm going to get him to come and get her. She's looking a little pale and I don't want her going out on us," Michonne said.

Andrea nodded her head and stayed where she was. She'd spent the whole ride cramped into this position so it wasn't like another few minutes was exactly going to kill her. She continued to knead Carol's muscles and watched as Michonne went and talked to Daryl, probably giving him the nickel's worth of the story.

"It's going to be fine," Andrea said to Carol. She wasn't sure she believed herself, but she was going to offer Carol whatever support she could right now. "He's not getting out, and even if he did, you've got all of us. He's not getting anywhere near you."

Andrea knew it was a lie. She had no more ability to protect Carol than a man on the moon. She'd proven that the night they'd been attacked by Ed coming home from the Watering Hole. All he had to was catch them off guard and she couldn't kill the bastard even if she wanted to. She wasn't going to point that weakness out to Carol, though, at least not right now. If Carol felt better thinking every last one of them had super powers then she was sure as shit going to support that thought process.

Daryl came with Michonne rather quickly toward the car, wiping his greasy hands on his pants as he came. He opened the passenger seat and leaned in, his arms going around Carol. She stood up, wrapping hers around him.

Andrea didn't know if anyone could actually make this situation better, but she knew that Daryl could at least make Carol feel like it wasn't anything too serious for them to handle.

She crawled out of the back seat, stretching her legs, and moved to get Michonne's baby seat out of the trunk that she'd put in there earlier to make room.

Daryl was taking Carol inside and she was audibly crying again. Andrea frowned at Michonne.

"Pop the trunk," she said. Michonne moved to do just that and then came to talk to Andrea around back of the car. "Do you really think this guy is getting Ed off the hook?" Andrea asked.

Michonne shrugged.

"There are so many variables and it's going to depend on…" Michonne started. Andrea held her hand up and rolled her eyes.

"I don't want the lawyer shit, Michonne. I just want your damn opinion. I'm not going to sue you over what the hell you told me over the trunk of your car," Andrea said, annoyed and worried. She'd never had friends before, and she'd certainly never had one like Carol, and she took it very personally to know what Ed had put Carol through and what he might try to do now if given the chance.

Michonne sighed.

"Honestly? There's a chance. There's a very good chance," Michonne said. "He's in there for five years so his lawyer is going to move to have it brought up as soon as possible…his case might not have been as by the books as it should have been…there's a good chance Ed Peletier gets off easier than he deserves."

Andrea almost felt tears welling up in her eyes at the very thought of it and at the sound of sincerity in Michonne's words when she was speaking outside the earshot of Carol.

"He's alive, isn't he?" Andrea asked. Michonne looked at her. "He's already getting off easier than he deserves."

Andrea yanked the car seat out of the trunk and slammed the trunk lid. She was fighting back her own feelings on this, mostly fueled by anger at the situation.

Andrea thought back over the years that she'd lived in the little shit town. There'd been a lot of shit, having to do with people, which she'd never fully understood, but there'd been almost as much having to do with the law that baffled the hell out of her.

"You know," she said, turning angrily toward Michonne after putting the car seat in the car and closing the door, figuring the other woman could worry about how the hell to make it child suitable, "here's what I don't understand about the whole damn thing. They'll put people in prison for drugs…for selling them and all that shit. That's totally voluntary. Everyone involved in the fucking drug trade is doing it on their own free will. They're selling and buying it because they want to…but they'll lock you up and throw away the key if you want to fuck up your own mind or help somebody else fuck up theirs because they want to. That's some serious shit…but Ed could have killed Carol. He would have killed her if he'd had the chance…he would have killed me too. Except it just doesn't matter that much to the fucking police or lawyers or judges…it's not that important…not when they've got serious problems like some fucking stupid asshole that wants to fry his own brain."

Andrea stopped a moment when Michonne wrapped her hands around her lower arms.

"There are a lot of things about the law that none of us can fully understand," Michonne said. "Just because I've studied it and worked with it doesn't mean I don't think some dumb fucks were the ones who came up with this, OK?" Michonne said. "But you're not going to change that and neither am I. Neither one of us has that kind of importance in the world. For one damn thing, neither one of us has a penis…and we surely don't have the money to do what the people really in charge do."

Andrea could feel her blood boiling. She wasn't mad with Michonne in the slightest, but Michonne was the only person around for her to take her anger out on and the woman seemed to realize that. Andrea could see a spark of anger or frustration or something glimmering behind Michonne's eyes too.

"So what if he gets out?" Andrea asked. "What are they going to do then? Give her another piece of paper saying how far away from her he's got to stay until he decides to ignore that piece of paper too?"

Michonne frowned.

"If he gets out…yes. She can have a restraining order against him. If he tries anything else, though, it'll be a more serious offense. His lawyer won't be able to save him like he might this time," Michonne said. "He'll get a heftier sentence."

Andrea chuckled at the absurdity of it simply because she couldn't keep it in anymore.

"If he tries anything else?" She asked. "So what? So Carol's just got to hang around waiting for the next time he jumps her and tries to beat her skull open on the sidewalk like it's a damn piñata?"

Michonne's fingers tightened their hold on Andrea's arms and Michonne brought herself closer into Andrea, staring into her eyes the same way that an adult might stare at a child who wasn't calming down enough to listen to what they were saying.

"Listen…we don't know what's going to happen here," Michonne said. "I'm going to look into this, I can promise you that. Ed might not get out…he might do his full five years…and then we'll have to worry about him, but Carol doesn't need everyone losing it right now. She needs us for support and that means you've got to hold it together and be there for her. This is not the end of the world. Everything is going to continue to go on normally. Can you handle that?"

Andrea nodded finally.

"Normally…yeah, I can handle that," she said. The five years had her almost as stirred up as all the rest. She thought that Ed would be gone…like really gone…even five years didn't sound like much of a stint in prison. Stupid television shows lasted longer than that.

"Good," Michonne said. "She needs you and she needs for everything to be normal and happy and just what she's gotten used to it being. Let me worry about what's going on with Ed. I'll let you know if there's anything new to be aware of."

Andrea nodded again.

Michonne released her hold on her arms and continued to stand there, facing her for a moment.

"Why would the lawyer…Philip Blake…" Andrea said. "What does he want with me?"

Michonne shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Could be genuinely interested in you or he could be looking for something on Carol and knows you're close to her. I don't know what his angle is on the case and I don't really know what he's arguing. I'm going to try to find out, but if he's a decent lawyer that won't be easy. I'd just advise you to stay away from him. If he's trying to get any pieces to the puzzle he's putting together, don't give them to him," MIchonne said.

Andrea sighed.

"I wouldn't do anything on purpose," Andrea said. "And I'll do my best to lay low or whatever it is that I need to do if I'm part of what could get Ed out of prison…I don't want him ever getting out but if five years is his sentence then I want him to do every single hour of that."

Michonne smiled at her.

"I know you wouldn't do anything, Andrea. You're a good friend…and even if he comes up with some shit and he somehow makes it about you…it's not your fault, OK? Lawyers are some sneaky sons of bitches and I should know," Michonne said.

Andrea chuckled.

Andrea glanced back toward the house, wondering what was going on inside. She imagined that Daryl was probably working double time trying to calm Carol down and reassure her that no matter what happened everything was going to be fine.

That was the mantra they all had to adopt. They were going to have to keep going as normal and remember that no matter what happened, everything was going to be fine.

"I guess I should go in," Andrea said. She suddenly realized she was tired from just the stress of everything that had happened since lunch.

Michonne reached out and pulled Andrea into a hug before she even knew what was happening. Andrea wrapped her arms around the woman in response, hugging her back. Michonne was the bearer of bad news, but she wasn't the cause of it. Andrea knew as well as anybody that if Ed got out of prison it was going to kill Michonne too.

"Remember," Michonne said, "normal, OK?"

Andrea nodded.

"So damn normal I might just have to go fight with Merle to get everyone's mind on something else," Andrea said.

Michonne chuckled.

"No, really," Andrea said. "It's good…we can handle this…"

"We can," Michonne said.

"I'm going to make dinner," Andrea said. She turned and started in the house. At least she could make something to eat so that when and if Carol and Daryl ever emerged they'd have something. She wasn't hungry right now, but she figured that cooking would put her mind on something else and it wasn't as if the food would spoil any time soon.

"Ty will bring your bedroom suit by tomorrow," Michonne said.

Andrea turned back to look at the woman who was getting ready to get in her car.

"I'll be home all day. Nothing to do tomorrow until it's time for the Watering Hole," Andrea said, forcing herself to smile in hopes that practicing the expression would make her feel it.

"Tell Carol that she doesn't have to come in tomorrow," Michonne said. "I won't be in the office and neither will Daddy so it's just a paid holiday for her. It's a good thing too…she probably needs it."

"You got it!" Andrea called.

Michonne got in her car and Andrea walked under the carport. She stood, for a moment, with her hand on the doorknob and watched as Michonne's car backed out of the drive before she finally swung the door open and went inside, Lincoln waiting to greet her, hoping that Daryl and Carol had everything there under control.