I do not own The Walking Dead.

Previously:

"Up there is Faye, and my son Carl."

As expected, faces turned towards her and Carl said nothing, eyes suspiciously scanning the small crowd. Not wanting to leave a bad impression, Faye quickly - probably too quickly to seem natural - raised an arm to wave.

The attention left as quickly as it came, and left the child wondering where she got stage fright.

Apparently relieved to have finally gotten this far, Rick put on what he must have hoped was a friendly smile.

"Welcome to the prison."

"So," Faye began, tipping from the front of her toes to the balls of her feet, hands clasped behind her back. "What now?"

Daryl shrugged from beside her. "Dunno. Rick's got 'em writin' down names. Disabilities, skills, anythin' special they need for food so we can keep a look out on runs. Gonna need to go on one soon, what with all these people. After all that's done, though, not sure."

The girl knew that much. Hershel was dealing with anyone with disabilities, Beth with the food requirements and Carol with skills. The leader himself was greeting people - the other members milling around the room - and Carl had retreated to his cell with Judith. Faye wasn't sure what Daryl was doing, exactly, though he was probably supposed to integrate himself a little more. Michonne had also made an appearance, but was skulking at the side of the room. She didn't look friendly, but wasn't exactly hostile either. That was probably an improvement.

"Where are they gonna sleep? There won't be room in our cell block, will there?" Faye asked. It was odd to have so much noise in their usually quiet home. The child wasn't sure she'd be alright with having so many people around in a single cell block. Hell, she wasn't sure she wanted them around permanently at all.

"Nah, won't be room." He shook his head. "'Sides, not happy with 'em right where we're sleepin' just yet. Not like they gonna attack us, but still. Probably gonna have to get 'em in the other cell block."

Good. That made life a little easier. "Well, there's the one we cleared out for the prisoners. It was clear last time I checked, 'cept Merle was ripping up the mattresses."

Daryl looked like he was about to nod when he paused to frown. "When were you checkin' up on Merle?"

Faye sighed, repeating what she told Rick. "He wandered off by himself so I followed him 'cause I thought he might be up to something. He wasn't. Rick already told me off for going by myself so you don't need to."

To her surprise, he simply scoffed. "What?" She questioned.

"Jus' the idea of a little girl checkin' up on Merle."

Faye 'not-pouted'. "I'm not that little!"

"Got some growin' to do, that's for sure." The hunter smirked. "Ya still got little legs."

"Hey!" She hit him playfully. "I'm a fast runner."

"I know, I know," He said. "Shouldn't be talkin' to me though, should be... I dunno. Socialising."

Faye frowned. She wasn't in the mood for socialising, that would mean talking to a big group. The child was too used to having a small number of people around, let alone the amount there was in a single room. "I am socialising. With you. Besides, if I have to, you have to."

It was only after saying this did Faye notice how tense Daryl actually was. "Nah, I'm jus' keepin' an eye on 'em."

"Alright, well, since everyone else is doing something, why don't I go see what state the other cell block is in. Some of the beds might be okay." Faye said carefully, justifying her reasons for going as being useful. No, it wasn't because the people overwhelmed her at all. That was a ridiculous thought. "It needs doing and I'm just stood here."

"Don't like ya goin' on ya own. Could take Beth-"

"She's busy. You can send someone over when their done, right? There shouldn't be any walkers there and this doesn't stop me firing a gun." The girl tapped her bandaged forehead. Over acting a sigh, she joked with him. "Jeez, have some faith in me to go check up on some mattresses!"

Shaking his head, he patted her shoulder. "Go on, then. Be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll aim for the head if a pillow attacks me!"

"You do that."

Faye didn't normally like silence. It's presence usually meant she was alone, and being alone was bad. In more ways than one.

But this silence felt like bliss compared to the hum of noise in Cell Block C.

It wasn't completely quiet. No, she could still just make out the sound of the newcomers, as if they were murmurings in the background. But, it was enough for Faye to breathe a sigh of relief and let her arms swing as she walked. It was good to get out of there for a while.

The only significant sound was the snarl of a walker. This was completely understandable, though, since the Governor's soldiers hadn't killed all the walkers in the field and the gate was still smashed down, any number of things could have gotten in.

Also, they were in the apocalypse. There were bound to be a few undead hanging about.

She could see the places where the bullets had hit the walls, casings littered on parts of the floor. It was strange, Faye thought, to be so calm after the havoc that had been wreaked earlier that day. But, she was. And she had thought that a lot lately, so maybe she shouldn't consider it weird.

Perhaps that was the norm now. Well, if she wanted the excitement again, she cold always go deal with the increasing amount of growling walkers.

Clearing the yard again would probably be another job she could do. The gate being fixed was also a must, what with all the walkers that seemed to be moaning now, but she wouldn't be allowed to join and even if she did, the girl had no idea how to reassemble the thing. The undead groans droned underneath her thoughts.

Something Faye was determined to check out right this second was those damn walkers because why the hell were they being so damn loud while she was having an internal monologue?!

Changing her course towards the fence, the girl scowled. It first, the noises had remained the irritating sound that always seemed to be there, but the volume it was at now was concerning. That amount of walkers was never good, especially after a day like this one. Lower on ammo than normal, lower on energy, lower on just about everything.

Then again, Faye was definitely still on edge. She could recognise that. There was a fine line between being alert and being paranoid, and she was determined not to cross it.

Having said that, though, there was also a fine line between reassuring herself and denial. That was the line that blurred, the one Faye couldn't quite get the hang of staying behind. Problem was, that was probably the one she needed to crack more-

Faye stopped, staring at the fence. The walker covered fence.

Reaching for her gun in an instant, the girl called for someone, eyes never leaving the undead pushing against the barrier. "Daryl!" After a few moments, there was no reply. "Daryl!" Still nothing. "...Anybody at all?!"

Was she the only one around here paying attention?

Alright, alright, there were two options here. Run back and get the others - which would take time, panic the newcomers and damn well hurt her head - or deal with it herself.

Faye liked the latter more. The fences were there for a reason, thick wire bound together to keep her and the walkers separated. Stab them in the head, sort out why there were that many and boast to Daryl.

Counting as she walked closer to the growls, the girl found she had probably overreacted in panic, overestimating the amount there.

(Yes, it could be that, or Faye was just trying to reassure herself this was a good idea. Which it was not.)

She released her tight grip on the gun as she stood facing the first walker. She wouldn't need a gun for this, that would create too much noise and waste bullets. Besides, she was more experienced with a knife lately, anyway. Holding the blade firmly, Faye reached up and plunged the metal through a female walker's eye. It omitted one last gurgle before slumping against the fence and the girl ripped the knife away. What seemed like black goo seeped from the wound, making her avert her eyes.

The next was a little more troublesome, part of it's body stuck behind the corpse of the first, head to far away for Faye to get easily. The other arm, though? That was practically through the fence, the wrist pushing through. If she could tempt it, it wouldn't hesitate to get closer to her, but there was no way she was going to draw blood to make that happen. That would attract more walkers in general, not just that single on. The other option...

Yanking on the wrist closest to her, hating the way the decayed flesh seemed to squelch under her fingers, the girl brought the knife to the walker's forehead as it stumbled towards her. With another twist of her knife, the arm fell limp in her hand and she let it go, wiping her hand vigorously on her jeans. They would probably need a wash anyway.

The walkers that followed didn't pose much of a problem, other than the occasional splatter of blood or extra push of the knife. Stepping back as the last walker was dealt with, Faye let her body relax and breathed a sigh of relief, flexing her aching fingers. Maybe she had worked her arm too hard.

Turning around, the girl began to go back to the cell block, not wanting to hang around the smell for too long. Now that was done with, she could get the others to sort out why so many had come into the prison.

The girl was just taking the first few steps back when the new growls were loud enough to hear, causing her to curse and run to the fence. Stumbling up the field were double the about of walkers than before.

Jesus Christ - could she not catch a break?! How was she supposed to deal with this silently?! How was she supposed to deal with this at all? Her Glock 19 held fifteen bullets, and there were far more in that field! Even if she aimed perfectly every time, which she would not, it still wouldn't be enough.

There wasn't a choice in it, she had to get the others, whether it hurt her pride or not.

But that would take a little while, especially if she had to get all the adults without panicking the majority of people. Who knows what would happen if the walkers got to the fence before them, how many would it take to bring it down? The girl had no idea.

Shoving her knife back into it's holder, Faye grabbed the gun and clicked the safety off as she took a few steps back. This might scare people a little, but it would get the job done quicker and would deal with the task at hand. That was the priority, not keeping the ex-Woodbury group happy. She could handle it, she could make the call, it wasn't the worst idea she'd ever had.

She took a few seconds to be sure of her aim - it would be embarrassing to miss at such an important shot, no one there to see it or not - before pulling the trigger, the shot loud in her ears. Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, Faye was relieved to see the bullet hit to the left of the target's forehead. The few days without firing the gun hadn't been too bad after all.

The girl had time to fire one more shot, the second walker down, before she finally heard the member's of the group.

It was Rick first, and Faye wasn't pleased to hear his angry voice. It was probably not the time to be testing his patience. Maybe she should have gone and spoken to him before firing the gun. "The hell's goin' on?!"

He didn't seem to be coming closer just yet. Pausing before she shot, she cupped her mouth as she shouted back. "Walkers! There's loads of 'em coming towards the fence! I don't know where they came from!"

When there was no reply, only the growing sound of fast and heavy footsteps, she carried on shooting. Two bullets in another walker's head, the first being too low on it's face. Eleven bullets left, she counted.

Then, she turned around to see five of the adults running towards the scene - Rick, Daryl, Michonne, Glenn and Maggie. All either had a firearm out, or were getting one out, with the exception of Michonne. She was putting her katana away. In a few moments, the walkers were dropping like flies. Faye helped a little, she was pretty sure two more of the undead fell from her bullet, but she wasn't completely sure.

When the last one was down, the six all seemed to relax a little, taking a moment to simply breath. It was Glenn who spoke first. "Alright, so... why were there so many?"

"An' why were you out here dealin' with 'em by yourself? Though you was supposed to be clearin' up the other cell block." Daryl said, slinging the crossbow over his shoulder as he spoke.

Eyes turned to her and Faye quickly explained herself. "I was going there, but the walker's growls got really loud so I went to check it out. Loads of 'em were pushing against the fence, and I could get them easy with my knife so I did!" Faye lightly kicked the bottom of the fence, making them look at the line of dead bodies. "Then I started to come back to get you guys to figure out why they were there, but then I saw the rest of them coming up the field. I didn't know if they'd get here before I got you guys so I just started without you. I don't know why there were so many."

Daryl gave her a look as if to say 'this is not done' before the conversation carried on. It was Maggie first. "What could have brought them all here?"

"Fightin' off the Woodbury soldiers wasn't exactly silent." Rick replied. "Walkers from all over must have heard it, they just got here while we were too distracted to have someone on watch."

Michonne spoke next. "Could be the smell too, more people being here and all. Even if that didn't cause it now, it might in the future when everyone isn't cooped up in one cell block."

"Right. That means fixin' the gate is a priority." Daryl said, nodding in agreement.

"We got anything here that'll do the job?" Glenn asked.

Rick shook his head a little. "We could try and put the old one back up, but it was obviously too weak to withstand much. We should try and make a stronger one, don't think anything we've got here will cut it, though."

"Could make a run, see if there's something near here that'll do. Could get some other stuff too while we're at it." Michonne said. "These people are gonna be wanting more than we have soon."

The leader agreed. "Alright, anyone want to volunteer?"

Daryl nodded. "I'll go. Can take the truck to put anythin' worth bringin' back."

"Me too." Michonne said.

Apparently, since everyone was happy with the plan, they made there way back to the cell block. Faye tried to find herself and opening to leave before she could get caught in a lecture, speaking quickly. "So, you know, since that's dealt with and all I think I should carry on with what I was supposed to be doing 'cause that still needs to be done-"

"Faye." Daryl said, pausing as they got close to Cell Block C again. He crouched down to her level. "Ya did good. But if anythin' like that happens again, you run and you get someone."

"But- they could've- I didn't know if they would have gotten to the fence before I was back! What if they took it down?"

The man shook his head. "Weren't enough there to do that."

"But I didn't know-"

"I know ya didn't. I ain't tellin' ya off. But that could've gone south real quick and ya were on ya own. Understand? Don't do anythin' like that by yourself."

Faye nodded. Daryl was lying, he was telling her off, but he was nicer about it than most.

Was Daryl Dixon soft with her? Ha! Tell her that when they first met and the girl would have laughed at you.

"Good. Now, go on and do the job. I'll send someone who ain't busy over."

She hoped it wouldn't be one of those blonde girls. It wasn't that she didn't like them, though they seemed a bit weird to her, they were nice enough. It was just they would make Carl mad and Faye didn't want that. He was unhappy enough, she wanted to help, not make it worse.

Looking over his shoulder, the child noticed the adults had all returned inside the cell block, probably in a hurry to assure the newcomers everything was fine. Good. Daryl wasn't as bothered about the way he acted when it was only the two of them. Before he could move away, Faye quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Be careful on that run with Michonne."

The man seemed to reply quicker than he normally would when she surprised him. "Always am."

It made Faye happy that Daryl wasn't tense when she hugged him, that his muscles weren't clenched, uncomfortable.

He simply hugged her back.

Author's Notes:

A little more action here, as requested. In the next chapter, we will have some more Carl, because we haven't seen much of him lately, and some more interaction with Lizzie and Mika. Also, there will be an extra scene with a certain character who I won't name yet, but Faye hasn't spoken with in length for a while.

After the next chapter, there will be a mini-time skip of maybe two weeks so Faye can get some real action. I have plenty planned, but if you think of anything you'd like, gimme a call!

Anyway, see you next Saturday!

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

Thanks.

Cobalt Flame.