Michonne paused. "You killed people before this?"

Rand barked out a laugh. "Is it going to be a problem?" she sneered.

Daryl stopped eating, too, and picked his crossbow up again.

"What the fuck ever. I'll just take it again. Next time I might shoot you in the ass with it," Rand scoffed before she sipped more coffee.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you kill them?"

"Before or after this?" Rand repeated her question.

Michonne put her fork and knife down before picking up her katana. Rand jumped on the counter and drank her coffee.

"That's awfully personal," she drawled. "After? To save my ass, why else? Did you kill people?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Why?"

Michonne put her katana down and started eating.

"What I thought. Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to." She poured more coffee. "I'll just take a room. Bottom floor. Guard me if you like, not that it will do you a damn bit of good. Any clothes around here?"

Michonne walked with Daryl back to the car the next day. She was staying. She liked this place. She was relieved he wasn't trying to talk her into going back. When they reached the car she opened the driver's door for him. "Keep it."

He bit his thumbnail. "You sure, Michonne?"

She nodded. "I am." She gave him a little smile. "It's a good place."

"Rand?"

She shrugged. "She. It's a big place. She didn't kill us. We didn't kill her."

"Trust her?"

"As much as you can trust anyone these days."

He frowned at her.

"That included you."

"Me, Carol and Rick."

"Were going to take over, Daryl. I know," she cut him off.

"Rick tell ya?"

"No," she frowned. "Carol is a bad liar."

Daryl looked at the ground. "Rick wanted the rest of ya to try."

"We did." She shook her head. "I hope it works out. For Carl and Judith. And you."

He shrugged. "Shoulda done what you did."

"We didn't. Thank you."

"Didn't do shit, Michonne," he protested.

"You did. Maybe you could come visit me. Sometime. When things calm down."

"Shit. Ain't never gonna calm down."

"You know where I am."

"Won't tell nobody."

"I know." She looked around. Then she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. After they broke apart she walked toward her new home with her new roommate. "Be careful, Dixon," she waved her hand. She didn't turn when the car started and drove off.

Michonne walked back to the castle and found Rand in the Apothecary. She watched as the woman looked like she was cataloging everything.

"What are you doing?"

Rand turned with a pad and pen, dressed in black 'Days of Yore' shorts, a blue t-shirt and hiking boots. "You run this place. I'm your lieutenant. We need to know what we have so we can make plans."

Michonne huffed out a laugh. "I run this place?"

"You do. You were here first," she turned and went back to doing inventory.

"What plans?" Michonne was interested.

"We need to know how much we have, especially food. This was supposed to be a working farm, so we need to check out the fields."

"We did. Some of the food is still growing."

"Mm. Good. What else?"

"Greenhouses. They used to have flowers."

"We could plant something else in there," Rand stated as she counted the sweatshirts.

"What else?"

Rand finally stopped. "What's your name?"

"Michonne."

"Alright, Michonne. We need to find out what we have. Then we need to find guns. Lots of guns. For protection. I have this," she pulled out her gun from the small of her back. "One clip left. Not enough. If you found this place and I found this place someone else is going to find this place. I'm good. Not that good. If they're not friendly then we're screwed."

Michonne hummed. "What makes you think you're staying?"

Rand smiled. "You would have killed me before now. Tried, anyway. And you can't do this on your own. Not now. Trust me. I tried."

"How did you find this place?"

"Brochure at a hotel near Bridgewater. I'll go back and get it all. How did you find this place?"

"Same. Hotel in Groveton."

She nodded and sat on the floor. "I'll have to sweep that area, too." She put her hands on the floor and leaned back. "Does this place have an office?"

"It does."

"Hm. I'll have to look through it. You and biker guy went through here. I saw part of it. How many rooms?"

Michonne sat down near the door. "Thirty."

"We'll need people. And we're not using those dumb ass questions."

"How many walkers have you killed is a good one."

"Really?" Rand drawled and raised her eyebrows. "Anyone still alive has to have killed at least one."

Michonne shrugged. "Not everyone."

Her mouth dropped open. "You're fucking serious," she said after a few minutes.

Michonne nodded.

"How in the hell did that happen? Did you find someone living in a bank vault?"

"What else should I be thinking of since I run the place?" she deflected.

"Alright. Food. Protection. People. The most important. I'm recommending we go to Bridgewater and clean it out."

She raised her eyebrows. "Why?"

"People are dicks. I'm sure, since you're still alive, you're interested in staying that way. Me, too. If we take everything we need, or think we'll need, our chances of seeing dicks drops. Something I can get behind." She stood and wiped off her ass. "I don't want to know your story. I know you've killed walkers, I saw you and the biker guy when you drove up. I know you've killed people. I'll tell you a little of mine. I've been in three places after this started. One was visited by some dicks. One was lost to a stampede. Taking those three lessons to heart I'm not fucking losing another one."

Michonne stood, too. "The third?"

"Dicks are everywhere," Rand frowned.

"Okay, Lieutenant. Let's have some coffee and I'll listen to your ideas. As I show you around our new home."

It took Daryl a few hours to get back to Groveton. He loaded his bike and left the car in the garage of that house. He deliberately didn't think about him and Michonne kissin'. He'd miss her. Not because she could kiss, but he liked her. He didn't like many people.

After a day of straight riding he was on the street heading toward Alexandria. He didn't know how long he'd been gone. Couldna been more than four days. When he reached the gate someone shot at his feet. He pulled his gun and looked around before ducking behind his bike.

"That's far enough, Daryl," Sasha yelled.

"What in the hell?" he stood up and shouted.

"Rick's on his way. You can stay there."

"What the hell, Rick?" Daryl yelled at him as he came from inside. "Sasha's shootin' at me."

"Yeah, she is," Rick nodded. "Don't know if we can trust you or not."

"What?" He jerked his head back in surprise. "Are you fuckin' crazy?"

"No, I'm not crazy. You left."

"Yeah. Make sure Michonne was alright," he cut Rick off.

"She left, too."

"She said."

"I don't care what she said, Daryl. She didn't back me. When you left I thought you didn't back me either. You said you were with us."

"Also said we should give the fuckin' place a chance, Rick. I was tryin'. Like Carol asked."

"No, Daryl," Rick said. "You left. You left us. Your people."

"Michonne's one of us, too, Rick. She thought."

"I don't give a shit what she thought. I was doing what was right to protect our people. That included Michonne."

"Look, we don't gotta stay here with these idiots."

"We're staying. You're not. You're not welcome here."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Rick, look, Michonne had some good ideas. We don't need this place," Daryl raised his voice.

"This is our home now, Daryl. Not yours. We'll protect our home. We'll kill anyone we think is a danger to our home. Like Pete Anderson."

"You killed."

"I did. He tried to kill Reg. Ended up killing Spencer, instead. Someone had to step up. It wasn't Deanna. It was us. Our people," he yelled as he pointed to the gate. "Our people were protecting this place while you and Michonne weren't with us."

"Michonne is one of us,"

"No she isn't," Rick shouted, cutting him off. "Do you see her here? Do you see her here? With us? Doing the hard things to keep us safe? She had a fit and stomped off. You decided," Rick pointed his finger in his direction. "You chose her over your people."

"You are outta your fuckin' mind, Rick," Daryl yelled and got in his face. He took a step back when Rick pulled his gun.

"I'm sane. And protecting my family. My people. My home. My kids," he yelled. "You were with us. Now you're not. I'm giving you a warning, Daryl, because you used to be my friend. My brother. Don't come back. Or I'll kill you." He turned and walked back in the gate.

"Rick, you asshole. Just fuckin'." He stopped talking when Sasha shot at his feet again.

"Get moving, Daryl," she yelled.

"Sasha."

She raised her rifle again. "I won't warn you again, Daryl. Get out of here," she shouted.

Daryl scoffed. "Fuck you all," he yelled at Sasha. He pulled those pamphlets out of his saddle bag, jumped on his bike, started the engine and took off down the street. He went back to the house they'd stayed in. "Fuckers," he hissed to no one. "Assholes. Fuckin' assholes."

He laid on the carpet in front of the sofa. "Fuckin' assholes," he yelled again. He looked up at the pounding on the door. He stayed where he was. He couldn't believe Rick. Sasha. Shootin' at him. 'Cause he'd gone to see if 'Chonne was alright? Fucked up. He didn't have nowhere else to go. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Shit.

Rand walked behind Michonne to the fields. She looked at the walls. "Battlements. This is a real castle," she said with some surprise.

"What?"

Rand stopped. "This is a real castle. Those?" she pointed to the little buildings that were embedded in the walls. "Are called battlements. During medieval times archers could shoot arrows out of the holes. It kept them protected." She looked around. "The entire place. Good. We'll have to keep the drawbridge up. Or take it down altogether. Find a ramp we can use."

"Dicks?"

"Yep. Dicks. Really don't want to take it down. When we find animals we'll need it."

"Ambitious, aren't you?"

"Realistic. And you've already thought of them."

Michonne didn't agree or disagree. "I thought the hotel was the castle."

"No. The hotel is a keep. Where the lords of the manor or kings stayed. This?" she waved her hand around. "Is the castle."

"How do you know?"

Rand shrugged. "I know all kinds of useless shit. Which makes me a great lieutenant."

"We'll see."

"I could be the Sargent at Arms. You know, responsible for the protection of this place."

Michonne raised her eyebrows and started to walk again.

Rand knelt down and looked at some of the food when they made it to the farm. She picked up some rotten tomatoes. "These? We'll have to pick the dead shit and turn the soil."

"More useless shit?"

"Yeah. Who the hell knew it would come in handy?" Rand grinned up at her.

Michonne watched her 'lieutenant' as they walked. They stopped in one of the little greenhouses and she peered intently at the dead flowers that were inside.

"I don't know what these were," Rand said softly as she picked up dried flowers. "Something having to do with Europe?" she mused, almost to herself.

Michonne gave her a look.

At her frown Rand explained. "This was called 'Days of Yore'. It was supposed to showcase medieval times, the Dark Ages and the Renaissance of Europe. Maybe some kind of flower or food." She shrugged again and wiped her hands on her shorts. "It could have been a vanity project for the vanity project. Tulips were prominent in the brochure."

"We'll finish this," Michonne decided.

"Hell yeah we will."

Rand stared at the empty corrals. "Horses." She looked at the space. "I recommend we tear some of these buildings down. Make more corrals. One for horses. One for goats. One for pigs. One for sheep. One for cattle. Let the chickens, ducks and turkeys roam."

Michonne huffed out a laugh. "Where do you think we're going to find them?"

Rand shrugged. "Around. We might have to travel for some. Still," she looked around again. "Good place. We need to get that literature."

"People?"

"Still working on it."

Rand stared at the weird ass thing, walking slowly around it. "Mill. Grind flour. Huh," she moved to another building. "Keep this. This must be a smithy," she pointed to the open pit and metal anvil. She picked up some of the tools and twirled them in her hands before putting them down.

"You know how?"

Rand laughed. "No. Never done it in my life. I've been to some renaissance festivals. I wonder if they were going to blow glass?" she whispered then shook her head. "Not important right now. You know, we should find some of those solar panels on street signs. Install them here. Automation."

"You know how to do that?"

"Nope. We're smart. We'll figure it out."

They passed the solar panels. "I don't know shit about these. A trip to a home improvement store is in the future."

After a few hours they headed back into the keep. Rand insisted Michonne show her around. She stood in the room downstairs, under the kitchen. "Ice house. Kept things cold. Beds. Move these. Some provisions. We should clear out the apothecary and bring the food here."

Michonne nodded and they continued. "Woo Hoo. Laundry," she grinned. "Are the rooms basically the same?"

At her nod, Rand wasn't surprised. "Okay. Next?"

Rand went behind the bar and raised her eyebrows. "Good for alcohol," she frowned. "This was supposed to be the solar." Michonne felt like she was getting a history lesson.

"Solar?"

"Solar. A sitting room for the lady or queen. Nice TV. Surround sound. Stereo system. Find some movies, kick back and have a nice day off," Rand whistled. "Watch some of those movies in the library. I wonder," she trailed off.

"You wonder what?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"If the employees were going to be year round. It would make sense. Some of those buildings had plumbing, we saw. Employee dorms, maybe. The movies. Some of those were foreign. Books, too. The music. Try and stay connected, but some modern stuff, too."

Michonne remembered they had rock, classical and flutes and drums. "World music."

"Right. World music. The books? So whomever stayed here knew what the hell they needed to do if the guy who built this couldn't get experts to stay here. Better if he found reenactors that did other things, like being a doctor."

Michonne nodded. It made sense. Some of those buildings were like dorms. "They didn't make it."

Rand shrugged. "Probably not or some showed up and left. Stranded somewhere else before or after showing up here. Stayed where they were until this blew over. I go with the last one."

"Also makes sense." Michonne was glad she let Rand stay. She knew some of it, but not all of it. She wasn't stupid. "Office?"

Rand looked at her. Michonne noticed she had hazel eyes. "Office."

"Yes," Rand whispered as she found invoices. Michonne was behind the desk looking at something.

"What?"

"Invoices," she pulled them out of the cabinet. "Now we won't have to do a hand inventory. This," she held one up. "Shot glasses and mugs. Some for clothes," she put them down on the desk, "chips, stuffed animals, books, more trinkets, drinks."

Michonne picked some up and started looking through them while she went back to the cabinet.

"What are you looking for?"

"Ideally? A list of vendors. They had to get the food in the ground from somewhere. They have a mill. I don't know how to grow wheat, but this person."

"Michael Ward. Ward's Castle," Michonne interjected.

"This Mike guy? Working farm with a mill? Need wheat to grind. If we can find out where he bought it we can go grab the seeds or whatever. Maybe find what was supposed to be in the greenhouses. Animals. Check out where he purchased them. Hopefully, close. I need to go get my car."

"You have a car?"

"Yeah, I have a car. You knew that, too," Rand stated.

"No, I didn't. I was hoping. I gave Daryl mine. I've walked before," she said.

"I have a car. Which we'll need. We need maps and a phone book."

"No phone book. I found the financials."

"It's a place to start."

Michonne held up a flash drive. "And this."

Rand smiled.

Author's Note: I believe Daryl would have left Michonne. He followed Rick from the beginning. His loyalty was to Rick. I know another story on this website started to explore the idea of Michonne being a leader. I don't think it's been updated (sad, it was good). Michonne has good instincts.