I do not own The Walking Dead.

Previously:

He glanced at her. "I know, he told me. And it depends what ya vote is."

"Doesn't that kinda defeat the point of voting?"

"Kinda." The hunter replied. "What is your vote?"

"We fight."

Carl was mad.

Carl was very mad.

Almost-impossible-for-Faye-to-approach-him mad. But, it was possible because A) She damn well prided herself on being his best friend and B) She completely understood why.

The group decision had eventually been to stay. After so much effort and time they'd put into the prison, all the losses they had had, leaving the prison would be a waste. Those death's would be a waste. This, the two children could agree with.

However, it was that part that didn't involve them that was the problem.

She, Carl, Hershel and Beth - Judith too - were to be outside the prison whilst the attack was going on.

Outside.

Away from the action, unable to help, useless. What good were they there?!

The attack plan may have been good considering the fact that they were outnumbered, but who knew when they need an extra set of hands? She could have been in the tombs, no one would see her, no one would no where to aim - she'd be fine! Faye had known she wouldn't have a large part to play when the plan formulated - but she expected to have something to do instead of being treated like she couldn't lift a gun. Daryl had tried the excuse of 'your job is to protect Hershel, Beth and Judith' but the girl was having none of it. The Greene's could fire their weapons and Judith didn't need all four of them.

She had been annoyed - and thought it was more justified than simply worrying over Daryl, this time, when the whole group was in danger - but Carl was worse. He was furious with his father for leaving him out. The bad part was that he was being quiet-angry. Quiet-angry people were the worst. He was reminding her of Shane, which Faye definitely hoped would pass quickly.

So, now, they were packing up everything they had - the plan only working if it looked like they had abandoned the place. Clearing everything away only Faye realise how little they really had. It took Faye longer to actually clean her cell rather than pack things away - most of her items being sprawled across the top bunk and backpack shoved under the bed. Currently, she was loading her Glock, leaning on the bags to her side. There weren't many things she had left that were from her family. Counting both the bullets she dropped into the magazine and the objects left in her room, Faye got to three before pausing. Three. The gun, the hoodie, and the backpack.

That was it.

No pictures. Andy had thought to bring two of them to the camp, but the girl had had no time to collect them when she left. She didn't have time for anything, for that matter. Memories didn't count, either. She rarely thought of them anymore.

(However, she had been thinking about them lately. Too much. She had to stop that. Carl was right, anything bad in her memories were ignored.)

Sighing, Faye put the pistol into it's case on her belt before standing up. Backpack on her left shoulder, the girl walked to the doorway of the neighbouring cell. Leaving Carl to fester his anger wasn't a good idea. It was bad to keep all that in, and it became routine to let the other let out all their problems.

She waited for a moment before speaking, catching the boy staring at the star from his sheriff hat. "You okay?" It was a stupid question, she knew, but didn't know what else to say. This wasn't a time for joking, and that was usually her way of breaking the ice.

He replied bluntly, voice low. "No," Slinging the his own bag on his shoulder before walking out his cell, obviously expecting her to follow. "This is fucking stupid."

Oh. Right. They were mad enough to cuss. She could work with that. "I know. I want to help too, but they're never gonna let us."

"No, they were right about you. You're still injured, Faye, you can't help the group. It's best that you stay out of it. I can though. I don't need to sit on the side lines."

Faye faltered. That stung. That really stung. From someone else, it was bad, but from Carl? He was her friend! Friends weren't supposed to say things like that. She hoped the hurt didn't show on her face, but it probably did. The boy either didn't notice or was too angry to care.

Yes, she reasoned, that was why he said it - he was angry. Carl didn't really think of her that way.

Regaining the quick pace as he walked down the stairs, steps heavier than they should have been, Faye tried to recover herself from the last comment. "Yeah, well, you are. There are shittier things to be doing, Carl. At least you're protecting your sister."

She didn't like the look he gave her as he stopped walking - as if she was dumb. "You didn't actually fall for them saying that, did you?"

Dammit, Carl, stop making it harder to justify you! "No, but it's better than thinking we're just out there twiddling our thumbs."

"Whatever." The boy shrugged as he continued outside, Michonne following behind them. The morning light shone on their faces as Carl suddenly hung his head slightly, and Faye looked to see him avoiding his father's gaze. "Come on."

"Carl-" Rick began, grabbing the boy's arm before it was yanked away from him, the boy carrying on as if the contact had never happened. Looking sheepishly between them, Faye hurried after him. She dumped her bag in the car quickly so she could see Daryl without Carl noticing she was gone for too long. Going around the front of the car with the hood up, she leaned on it slightly as she waited for Daryl to finish whatever he was doing.

"I've never seen him this mad." Faye turned her head to see Glenn talking to Rick. That was true, she hadn't either. "Even with Lori. Just... shut down."

Rick seemed sad to admit it, but agreed. "He's still a kid. It's easy to forget." Then, the leader's eyes landed on her, catching her listening in. "You angry too?"

She sighed. "I'm allowed to be mad at you when I'm not stupid enough to get myself shot."

Moving off the side, Faye let Rick slam the car bonnet.

"Ain't stupid." Daryl said from his seated position, sparing a glance up at her as the other two men walked away. "Jus'... Lil' naïve."

Faye raised her eyebrows. "Being naïve is worse than being stupid."

"Jus' think more, then. I dunno, read a book."

Carol smirked from around the back of the car. "That's amazing advise in the apocalypse."

"Well, whaddaya want me t' say?" The hunter shrugged, obviously not in the mood to really join the 'banter' at that time.

The woman sighed as she made her way towards the man. "What we should do, when this is all over, is get some school books."

"If we're alive when this is over." Faye drawled. "Also, school is pointless."

"Well, someone's depressing today." Carol said.

Maybe Carl was rubbing off on her a little too much. Or Daryl. Both were being moody in an already bleak situation, it was hard to see the light of things when your two favourite people were acting miserable. At least Carol was trying to be happy. "Threaten a girl with school and she will be."

Smiling, the woman waved her away with a smile. "Go on, Birdy, check you haven't left anything."

Faye stood staring around the cell block. This space had become their home, and now the Woodbury soldiers would come marching in, guns blazing. Would it be wrecked when they returned? Would they return at all? She had to hope so.

The sound of clicks on the ground caught Faye's attention as Hershel hobbled in on his crutches, a bible and pen in his hand. A smile that looked slightly too mischievous to be his own, the old man spoke. "One last thing, then we move."

Following him as he walked into a cell, Faye watched as he highlighted a section of text. She repeated the words as they were coloured. "And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of the damnation." The girl frowned. "What's that supposed to mean."

Hershel didn't reply, and Faye assumed it was a message for the Governor, patting the open page when he was finished. "All done."

The four had camouflaged the vehicles silently once the others left. Whether he had minded or not, Faye had hugged Daryl goodbye and received an awkward pat on the head in return.

The girl herself had taken charge of covering Daryl's bike personally - which took less time than she anticipated - and found herself staring at the prison. None of the Governor's men had come by yet, she would have heard their cars. It was just an agonising wait until they did.

"They'll be fine." Beth said quietly as the blonde moved to stand by Faye. "I know they will."

Shrugging, she replied. "You don't. You hope they will. But, I do too, so I'm no better."

The older girl smiled. "There ya go."

"Well, the alternative is thinking the others will get shot to pieces so I'd prefer not to imagine that."

"Always puttin' a positive spin on things, aren't you?" Beth said, shaking her head at the girl. She was about to continue when the distant sound of engines came into earshot.

All of their heads shot up, bodies freezing as they became instantly silent.

There was no mistaking it, those were cars.

Faye whispered to the Greene, even though the cars were no where near enough for them to be heard. "Let's put a positive spin on things behind a car."

Once the girls rushed to get to cover, Carl and Hershel moved too, Faye next to her friend. Being a jerk or not, Faye did not want him to leave her alone. Definitely not.

Nobody moved for a long time, eyes searching through the trees as they waited.

The moment when the convoy passed was a long one. Faye counted four cars, but couldn't be sure, as the outlines of them flickered through the woods. When they were finally out of sight again, the girl released a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Now, they just had to-

The sound of an explosion cut off any of her thoughts as the four ran to the treeline of the clearing, Carl and Faye reaching it first.

She had no idea how, but the Governor had blown up their guard tower. What did have, dynamite? A rocket launcher? Shit, what if he had a rocket launcher?!

It was machine guns, next, the sound echoing around them. Faye was too far away to see what though, the line of sight not clear. The girl frowned. Not being there was hard enough, but to only hear the damage? That was really bad.

Determined to get a better look, Faye reached up and gripped a branch of one of the trees. That one in particularly good, but the one above it was better, she thought as she reached on her tiptoes to grab it. It was sturdy. Well, sturdy-ish. Sturdy enough that she would have warning before it broke.

Carl narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a better look," She replied, as if it was obvious. Daryl had used the same tone when they first met, only Faye wasn't talking about an ear-necklace. "Now, do me a favour and gimme a boost."

Hershel shook his head. "That isn't a good idea. The tree isn't strong enough, if you fall you might open your stitches. Besides, if you get seen-"

"I'm not gonna get seen! There's too many trees and I wear green for a reason." Faye inwardly grinned at her last comment. "Besides, I'm light and it isn't even that high. I won't fall, my spare time back at the farm was pretty much all spent up a damn tree. I was cursed with the nickname for it," She turned to Carl as another explosion went off in the distance. "Boost. Now."

The boy seemed a bit unhappy about it, but held out his hands for Faye to put her foot on. As she grabbed a branch to help haul herself up, Carl grumbled a complaint. "You are not light."

The girl scowled. "Do you want me to kick you? Shut up, dumbass!"

Beth let out a weak chuckle at the two children's antics, obviously trying to ease the tense mood.

Perching herself as comfortably as she could on the branch, Faye looked to the prison. The view wasn't that much better, but there was less foliage.

"Well?" Carl pressed.

The girl waved a hand down at him, not taking her eyes away from the scene. "One minute!"

For a start, there were a lot of people in their field. People about to invade their home, trashing the front lawn. Assholes.

The smoke and fire coming from two of the towers made it obvious where the explosions had come from. Luckily - if there was any luck to be gained from this situation - the tower she and T-Dog usually sat in was still intact. At least, for now, because she was pretty sure someone was shooting at it. Assholes.

On the plus side, at least one of the vehicles looked to have been trapped by the spikes Daryl, Glenn and Michonne had put down. Serves them right, the assholes.

Finally, Faye addressed the others. "There's good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" Carl asked.

"They blew up two of our watch towers and shot another one to bits. There are loads of them and they all have guns and I think there's a rocket launcher among them."

Hershel sounded hopeful. "And the good news?"

"I lied. There is no good news."

"Oh." Beth said.

Faye felt bad, coming up with something quickly. "Well, I guess none of our people are hurt, yet, so that's good. And our traps worked on the cars, but that kind of means they have one less way to get the hell out our pris-" Faye was making everything bad again, she paused again. "They've killed a load of walkers in the field, too. So, I guess there is good news."

"Oh." Beth said again, a little less nervous. "That's alright."

Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the rocket launcher.

Faye blinked as she returned her attention to the prison again. "Wait, they're moving again. Oh. They broke down the yard gate... and they're going in... and I can't see them anymore."

"It will begin soon then." Hershel said, voice almost having a sad edge to it. "You can come down now, Faye."

She shook her head. No way, she was staying up there. The moment something important happened, she would know. And if the fight came towards them? She'd know that too. "I'll stay up here, look out for anything. You can relax for a bit."

"How can we relax like this?" Carl mumbled, but it was loud enough for Faye to hear. She ignored him, because she didn't have an answer.

The second she heard the cries, Faye's head jolted up.

Carl noticed, he had been on edge, waiting for anything to happen. "What is it?"

"I think they're in the yard again." The gun fire started. Faye let out a laugh. "They're scared shitless, it worked!"

She stopped the laughter as soon as she realised what she was doing. Those people were scared. She had to remind herself that they weren't soldiers. They were just people under command of the Governor. And they were terrified of her group. And she was laughing at it. She enjoyed knowing they were scared, after all they had put them through.

It wasn't right. That couldn't be right. Their fear weren't supposed to be funny.

That in itself scared Faye.

Expression now sombre, Faye looked down as Carl spoke. "I should be there."

The girl didn't respond, she didn't know how. Did she really agree with him? Did she want to be in the heart of that? Because that was panic. She knew it needed to be done, she knew she wanted to... 'deal' with Woodbury, but not directly. Not just yet.

When the prisoners found them, Faye thought she could pull the trigger. Thinking back, maybe they had just been words to get herself involved. If Tomas had come at her, would she have shot him? Maybe so. Maybe she liked that the adults were there, that she was close enough to the action, but still be protected.

After she had been shot though, it wasn't all black and white. There weren't good and bad people. There weren't those who deserved to die and those who didn't. It was all messed up. Did the Governor believe she deserved to die? Because she sure as hell didn't think so.

"They're retreating," Faye said, but her voice didn't contain the enthusiasm it did before. "The plan worked."

Hershel seemed to sense something was wrong. Damn him, he always did. "Come on down, then, they might come this way."

Not protesting this time, the girl dropped down from the tree as carefully as she could, Carl stood by the trunk in case she slipped.

Retreating behind the last car, Faye crouched by Carl, who seemed slightly more relaxed. Only a little though. She guessed he would only be relaxed when they were sure the people of Woodbury were gone. Properly gone, that was.

She was about to let herself sink back against the car when she heard the steps of someone running, the heavy pants to match. She must have been the first to notice it.

"Carl!" She whispered, but was so quiet the words were barely more than a breath. "Someone's coming."

It took only a second for the look of realisation on his face to set in and he replied. "I know!"

Before she could do anything else, Carl had sprung up, gun out in front of him. Faye was the quickest to follow him, safety already off.

"W-w-w-woah, don't shoot!" The man - no, he only looked a few years older than them, possibly Beth - said, voice frantic and pleading. He held a rifle in his hand, a striped hat on his head.

"Drop the weapon, son." Hershel said, tone strange with the loss of it's kindness. The boy would be stupid to try and attack them, he had four guns trained on his head.

"Sure," He said, arms held up so they could see as he inched closer to Carl to hand over the gun. "Here, take it."

He was stood right there. This was someone who attacked them, who wanted them dead just minutes ago! Now, he was handing over a gun - barrel pointing towards Carl, might she add - and he was in Faye's sights.

She could end it. She could end this boy just that second, all she had to do was pull her finger back. Then the bullet would do the rest. He wouldn't be a threat any longer, the danger would be done with. Would Rick even let him live if they did? Would Rick allow him to join the group? No, he couldn't, it would be another Randall situation. It was Randall who caused the events that made them lose the farm. Their leader wouldn't let that happen again, right? Faye knew she couldn't trust anyone who had once pointed a gun at her head.

The boy's eyes flittered between each of them as he leant closer. Those eyes wouldn't have to see anything anymore if Faye chose it.

The choice was right there, the ability to end a life. Faye didn't want that power, but it lay in her hands.

Daryl's words seemed to echo through her head. Only to protect. Did this count as protecting herself? Protecting her loved ones?

The only answer she got was no.

This wasn't defending herself, this boy was surrendering to them-

Bang.

Faye's eyes widened as the boy's limp body fell to the floor. No, no, no, there had to be- she didn't shoot him! She didn't pull the trigger!

It took a few seconds for the realisation to sink in as her arms dropped to her sides. It hadn't been an accident, she thought as she stared wide-eyed at her friend.

It was Carl.

The trip back to the prison was short and silent.

Faye was pretty sure if her head could hurt from thinking so much, it would. Ultimately, it had confused and upset.

But, Carl wouldn't have shot that boy if he wasn't a threat. Carl wasn't bad. Carl wasn't bad. Carl couldn't be bad, he was her best friend, and they kept each other strong. If he was like that, then what did that make her?

That meant the boy had to have done the right thing. She had made the wrong choice, not firing the pistol, that guy had attacked them just minutes before he arrived there! Yes, of course, that had to be it, she had just made the wrong decision, but Carl was right. He knew what to do, he always did.

(Faye had been in denial many times, but this event just about topped the list.)

When Faye saw Daryl, she immediately walked over and hugged him. It made her a little sad that he was still tense towards the contact, but he softened pretty quickly, his arm around her shoulders. As she released him, he bent down to her level. "You okay?"

She nodded. Technically, yes, she was.

"Sure don't look okay." The man said, slightly suspicious. "What's up?"

Glancing to see if Carl was looking - he wasn't, he and Hershel were talking with Rick - Faye spoke. "There was a guy from the Governor's group who was surrendering his gun. Carl shot him."

Daryl frowned. "Carl?"

She nodded. "It was the right thing to do, right? He had attacked us, he couldn't stay. He was dangerous, so it was okay to shoot him?"

The hunter looked torn. He usually told her the blunt truth, but maybe he was deciding whether to let Faye believe in Carl or not. His words were spoken very carefully. "If he was dangerous, and it was in defence, then it's alright."

She nodded, mainly to herself and not Daryl. The girl changed the subject quickly. "Is it over now?"

"No. They retreated, but we gotta finish this. We're off back to Woodbury." He said firmly. "We'll come back-"

Faye gave a weak smile, hoping to reassure him. "I know, you'll be fine and then you'll come back."

She could've sworn that was a smile on his face.

Ruffling her hair, which felt odd with the bandage on, he spoke. "Go unpack, Birdy."

"Don't call me that!"

"They aren't gonna let me go with them, are they?"

Carl and Faye were outside, sitting on one of the benches as the adults prepared to leave.

The girl shook her head. "Nope."

"Idiots. I'm not a little kid."

"Nope."

"Is that all you have to say?" He was speaking a little too close to a snap.

"Well, what else do you want me to say?" She defended. "They didn't say yes before and they won't now. Simple as."

He shrugged, fiddling with the sheriff star from his hat again. "I guess."

The was a long pause and Faye lay back on the bench, sunlight on her face. Although she preferred the last time they were both in the sun, the time before Carl got all moody, it was still nice to just lay there.

"You do think I did the right thing, don't you?"

His question made her tense, and she hoped he didn't see it. Her thoughts were automatic. Yes. Carl did the right thing. He's not bad. "'Course you did. He could've shot us."

"Exactly!" He leaned forward on his knees. "It needed to be done, he was a threat. I couldn't take the chance."

"I know." Faye replied, but a voice in the back of her head said differently.

The boy looked like he was going to say something else when Rick walked up to them, face too serious for Faye's liking.

"Faye, mind giving us a minute?" He asked, but it wasn't really a question. Nodding she slid off the table and went to say goodbye to Daryl.

It was a short affair, but a memory flickered through the child's mind.

Andrea.

It made her feel guilty that she hadn't thought of the blonde woman in so long, where was she? She had promised to return.

"What's with the look?" Daryl questioned.

"Andrea! She wasn't with the group that attacked, right?" At the shake of his head, Faye continued. "Then what if she's at Woodbury? You'll look for her, won't you?"

It was Michonne who replied. "'Course we will." Oh, yeah, Michonne was friends with Andrea, wasn't she?

"Be good." The hunter said as they were about to leave.

"Be careful!" She replied quickly, wanting to have the last word. With a nod of his head, the convoy was off.

To say Faye was surprised when Daryl returned with a bus following behind was an understatement. Why would there be a bus? They had no need for it, they probably didn't even have enough people to fill a bus.

It was only when she got closer did she realise it actually had people on it. Immediately walking away from the people as the doors opened, she went to Daryl. "They're from Woodbury aren't they?" At his nod, she continued in a hushed tone so the people wouldn't hear her. "But- why? They attacked us, they wanted us dead!"

"Look at 'em, Faye."

She obeyed him and looked at them. They were older people, or children. What did he want her to see? "I don't get it."

"Do they look like soldiers to you?" He said coolly, crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow.

Oh. Oh. They were older people, or children. Neither of those could fight. "Oh, okay, but still... you know, it's weird having them here. I don't trust them."

"I know, and neither do I. We couldn't leave 'em there. The Governor gunned down all his people, only one made it out. They were stranded, so we did the right thing. This is the right thing, okay?"

Faye could guess that very second that Carl would disagree. But Daryl was not Carl. Daryl was better than Carl in some ways, and vice versa. Looking at the newcomers, she found it hard to pick which one she sided with. That was if she had to pick at all.

"Go on, give it a chance. Say hello. Make some friends." Daryl said, giving her a light push in the right direction, even though the last sentence sounded slightly sarcastic. She didn't immediately walk up and shake their hands like Carol and Beth were, her footsteps were slow, as if going too near would make them mad. Eventually, she found herself standing as elderly walked past her, the smiles on their faces foreign. Were they smiling at her? It didn't occur to her to return the look at first.

Glancing back, she gave an uncertain look to Daryl. There hadn't been this amount of people around in a long time, Faye was pretty sure she didn't like it. However, when he gave another nod, she turned around again to find two blonde girls smiling at her, a large man behind them. The three of them were more forward than the rest, maybe not to block the rest of the people.

"Hi!" The taller blonde girl said, smile wide as she looked Faye up and down. "I didn't know there would be kids here! Is it just you, or are there others?"

Her enthusiasm surprised Faye a little. Was it nice enough at Woodbury that the kids could get this relaxed? It took the girl a few moments to find her voice. "Uh- well- there's Carl too..."

The man behind her smiled, and she wasn't sure what kind of a smile it was. Sympathetic? Why would he be sympathetic towards her? "Lizzie, why don't you introduce yourself first, it's more polite."

"Oh! I'm Lizzie. This is my sister Mika-"

"Hello!" The smaller girl said.

"-and this is my Dad. And you are?" She held out her hand to shake.

"Um, I'm Faye." Awkwardly, Faye stuck out her hand, letting Lizzie do the shaking.

The expectant look on the blonde girl's face made Faye a little nervous. "So, can you show us around? I bet you know all the good places here!"

"Faye!" Carl's voice made her blink a few times before turning her head. She had been right, the Grime's boy looked extremely unhappy. Mouthing a 'come on' to her, he beckoned her to follow him.

Looking back to the two blonde girls, Beth suddenly caught her eye and nodded encouragingly towards Lizzie and Mika, as if telling her it was okay to go with them.

Faye felt this decision was far more important that it seemed to be.

That didn't make it any harder.

Shaking her head, she muttered an apology and ignored the scowl that immediately crossed Lizzie's face as she turned to follow Carl.

She chose him, and she probably always would.

Author's Note:

Yay! Season 3 is over! Only got two reviews for the last chapter, don't disappear on me, guys!

Now, since Faye has missed out on some action due to her injury - on top of other reasons too - the time skip will be written in. There may be some mini ones, but at most they will be a month. I have a lot planned for the six months left out between seasons 3 and 4, but if you have any suggestions, let me know! I have some old ones which I'm going to try to fit in, but feel free to tell me you want to see!

Anyway, I will be off on a trip to Holland for four days, so I'm sorry if the chapter will be a little short. It will still be on the Saturday though and will pick up straight where we left off.

Wow, this is the longest chapter yet!

Please review, I love to hear your thoughts and advice.

Thanks.

Cobalt Flame.