They'd gone to the library after lunch. Seth was on KP duty, Adrian and Waya were putting the guns in some kind of order in the guardroom and Tsula was with them when Michonne asked her.

"Do I like Daryl? He seems like a nice guy. If you mean in a romantic sense? I don't know him well enough yet. He's good looking under the armor he wears. I wouldn't mind fucking him."

Michonne didn't know what she expected. She guessed she wouldn't be surprised by anything Rand said to her in the future.

"Don't you think? We're still women, Michonne, wanting to have sex is natural," Rand concluded as she looked through various books. "Even now."

"Huh. Since this started."

"Bullshit," Rand cut her off. "You've thought about having sex, so don't feed me. Even if it was a fleeting thought. I have. Daryl's a guy. I'm. I'll say he has. He doesn't seem very experienced."

She had. Fleetingly. At one time, after everything calmed down, she thought her and Daryl, before they lost the prison. It's one of the reasons why she stayed. Rick maybe, after they reached Alexandria. Jessie Anderson. The takeover. She shook her head. Not now. Not ever.

"What about Adrian? I have to admit, blue eyes and black hair is my thing. Or long black hair."

Michonne did think Adrian was good looking. She noticed he watched Rand. Seth, too.

"Unless you're gay. I'm not bi. If I was? Well, I'd fuck you. I like smart people that can take care of themselves."

She choked. "I'm not gay."

"Nothing wrong with being gay, Michonne. I'm sure you've known gay people, whether they told you they were gay or not. Are you bi?"

"Books?"

Rand held up a couple. "Crazy college years," she smirked and left her standing there with her mouth open. She watched her and Daryl as they toured the outbuildings. The rest had gone down to the farm to get started. Rand didn't do anything to Daryl. When she complimented him she kept it low key, like it was obvious. Daryl started to relax and not get all blushy or blustery when she did. Rand did the same thing to her. The woman was smart. And relatable.

Remembering what Rand said about learning to fight together she rode with Adrian and Seth to town the next day. Daryl had almost looked offended he'd had to ride with Waya. It was good for him to mix with the others. She couldn't be his crutch.

Daryl shoulda been pissed off he'd had to drive Waya, but it was almost like ridin' with Michonne. The man didn't say a damn word. He looked like Indians he'd seen in movies and shit, 'cept he needed feathers in his hair.

"See anythin' else in town?"

"Like what?"

"More people?"

"We tried to stay away from people."

Daryl could understand that. They didn't talk for the rest of the drive. When the truck pulled up in front of the hardware store, Waya got out. "Need a knife or somethin'," Daryl recommended.

The man nodded and they joined the others. "Doing this piecemeal is starting to get tiring and it's stupid," Adrian started off. "Wasting petrol and exposure. The list we made is just the basics we need right now. We should take everything we think we'll need now and in the future."

"Rand already suggested it," Michonne informed them.

"I'll get the clothes," Waya offered.

"The door's locked. Rand went through the back," Seth raised his eyebrows.

"Another trip."

"Nah. Just bust out the window. We ain't gonna come back for anythin' else in there, are we?" Daryl suggested.

"Michonne and Rand might need some personal hygiene products. Tsula, too. I'm not sure," Adrian trailed off.

"She's seven. Most women start menstruating at ten, I think my sister said."

"My sister started when she was twelve," Seth rolled his eyes.

They all looked at Michonne. "Eleven."

Daryl looked away and tried not to be shift on his feet.

"Why don't Waya and Daryl look through the hardware store? Take tools and the all the hardware you can carry. We do need to take the drawbridge off at some point. Just not now. Seth, Adrian and I can find gas and oil. We'll also go to the electronics store. See if there are any movies Tsula could watch," Michonne decided.

The man nodded at her.

"The department store. It'll be smart if everyone comes back for it. Including Tsula. She can help pack," Seth told Waya.

"She can. She can carry," he acknowledged.

"We need someone at the castle," Michonne pointed out.

"Not really. We could raise the drawbridge and someone could zipline to the other side," Adrian suggested.

"Zipline?" Daryl asked.

"We could put up a rope from the castle walls to a tree on the other side of the moat. Carabiners and another rope and slide over," Adrian told him.

"It would have to be you, me Waya or Daryl, Adrian," Seth raised his eyebrows.

Michonne frowned. "No it wouldn't. Rand climbed the wall. I can hold my own."

"Just put a seat on it. Like a swing," Daryl huffed.

Daryl was still kinda pissed it took 'em ten minutes to figure out how to keep the drawbridge up while they all left, but it felt kinda good, too. Like when they first got in the prison. They'd had those discussions hangin' around the cars. More walkers then. And they didn't know really where the hell they were in Georgia at first.

Him and Waya found bags and took saws, chains, hammers, nails, screws and screwdrivers. He'd found a bunch of carabiners on the counter with the hardware store name on it and took those. Waya stacked by the door and Daryl loaded the truck.

"Like to take the whole damn thing," he whispered to Waya as they searched the beauty salon next door.

"We should. With the department store," he whispered back as he went through a woman's purse and dumped it out. He put the tampons and something else in another bag while Daryl cleared out the shampoo and conditioner.

"Towels?" Waya held up an ugly brown towel.

"Nah. Got plenty now. Get it later."

The man nodded and they moved onto the real estate office. Daryl admitted Waya was good with the hunting knife he'd found on the dead walker in the hardware store, as he stabbed one that came from the back in the head. A search turned up more tampons and soap.

They headed to the first gas station. Michonne counted it as a win when they found oil. The pumps were electric so no gas from those. A search of the garage turned up a little. "How much needed for a chainsaw?" she asked Seth.

"I don't know. We have diesel in the back. No regular."

"Siphon?"

"We'll have to, Michonne. Adrian? We need a hose," Seth directed as he cleaned out the vending machine.

Adrian came from the back with multiple hoses. After deciding which one, the three of them siphoned gas from one of the trucks in the garage and ended up with ten gallons. "It'll have to do, right now," she noted.

"Electronics and the pawn store," Seth whispered before he opened the door. After beating a walker in the head they went down the street. Michonne found a few bags and put movies and music inside. Seth and Adrian searched the back and came out with more. "Toilet paper. Feminine hygiene. A gun. Aspirin. We'll take more laptops, while we're here. Some computer games."

After those bags were full they went to the pawn shop. Michonne was surprised to find it open. They did find more guns. "The people of this town were awfully trusting," Adrian observed as they loaded ammo. Seth stood in front of the counter looking up.

"Look," he pointed. When Michonne did she saw swords, ten in all, slotted diagonally, on the wall above the counter.

"Even if they're not sharp we could make them sharp," Seth grinned.

Adrian took a chair, stood on it and took them all down. After pulling one from its case he looked at the price. "A bloody lot of money. Highway robbery. Conan the Barbarian, my buttocks," he sneered softly.

Michonne wanted to laugh, she really did. Seth sighed. "We can test it out on the way back, Adrian. We should go. Check on Daryl and Waya."

Adrian was grumbling the entire time but he did have the sword out. When he saw a walker across the street he tried it. It wasn't sharp. Michonne came behind him and stabbed it in the head.

"Thanks, Michonne," he nodded.

They saw Daryl and Waya coming out of another business, a diner, by the time they made it back to the hardware store. After everything was put in the truck they started back to the castle. Michonne was glad she wasn't going to run the place if trying to figure out what would be needed was part of it. She'd gotten to the prison they'd had things already and Alexandria had things already. The castle? A cross between the prison and Alexandria. They had things, but not enough of the right things. Send her out for a run to get things? No problem. Deciding what would be needed for a community? She could figure it out. She didn't want to. And she admitted to herself she didn't know enough about farming or animals or building to be effective.

They spent the rest of the ride back with Adrian teaching them a few things in German. After they unloaded the truck everything was moved by the fencing surrounding the drawbridge and they waited. Rand had suggested Tsula walk the parapet every hour or so. Adrian spent the time looking at his sword. She and Waya killed a few walkers. Seth sat on the hood of the car Daryl was smoking in.

"Waya," they heard Tsula yell.

After the door was opened Rand and Tsula helped carry everything back to the keep.

"We need a wagon or something," she complained.

"We do," Michonne seconded.

"You brought back tampons, toilet paper, birth control pills, condoms, soap, shampoo, conditioner, movies, music and swords," Rand held up some of the items as she sifted through the bags they'd brought inside. The tools and hardware would be moved to the maintenance shed. "Good job."

"We need to do the department store, Rand, but we need everyone. And you need to unlock the door," Seth frowned at her.

"Waya was smart locking him and Tsula in there. And we'll need most everything in there."

"Why I locked us in there," he admitted.

"Also not just another pretty face. I'll give you a report on our day. Tsula and I made good progress on the farm. I also learned some Cherokee, right? Hattie?" she smiled down at Tsula as the little girl looked at the movies.

"Hadi," Tsula corrected as looked up at her.

"Are you sure, Tsula?"

The little girl frowned. "Auh. It's hadi."

"Hadi it is. We also made dinner. Lasagna. Tsula was a big help today."

Waya looked at his niece. "Auh, Waya," and she started talking to him in Cherokee. He responded and nodded to Rand.

"S'gi."

"De rien."

"The swords aren't sharp. We'll need to fix them," Seth told her.

"I'm sure Daryl knows how," Rand responded as she finished going through what was brought back. "Not to sound nosy, but are these," she help up the birth control pills, "for someone?"

"Daryl and Michonne are together," Waya replied. "Why I took the condoms, too."

Daryl's mouth fell open. "Y'all are a bunch a damn nosy bitches. Me and Michonne ain't together. Like that," he raised his voice.

Michonne was even uncomfortable at the disbelieving stares they received. She heard Rand mutter 'whatever' before commenting they would need birth control. "Dinner should be ready soon, if you want to shower. Tsula and I can put these things away. I'm not sure about the condoms and birth control pills. The kitchen?"

Seth scoffed. "Yeah. I want to parade my naked ass down to the kitchen for a condom. You're an ass, Rand."

"Unless you have a woman you're not telling us about, Ryerson, you have any other suggestions?"

"Give the man his condoms, Rand," Adrian sighed. "Stop embarrassing them."

"Please do. I don't want to see Daryl's naked ass parading down to the kitchen for a condom," Waya glared at her.

"What's a condom?" Tsula looked at Waya.

"A condom."

Daryl left to get a shower and didn't wait for the rest of the explanation. He couldn't believe them damn nosy people. He didn't know Waya was takin' that shit. He'd had a hard enough time with the feminine hygiene products. He knew women got a period, he wasn't stupid. Carol, Maggie, 'Chonne and Sasha never asked him to pick up that shit. He didn't know who did, but it wasn't him. Glenn, maybe. 'Chonne mighta gotten her own. She hadn't been at the prison much. Or Carol just gave her some when she needed it.

After he got out of the shower he heard a knock on the door. He threw on his dirty clothes again and answered it. He rolled his eyes when he saw Waya.

"I apologize if I embarrassed you and Michonne. In my career, some people had issues discussing human sexuality."

"The hell, man?"

"You and Michonne are close. Like lovers. Not brother and sister. For what it's worth, I think you make a good couple. Here," the man pushed some clothes at him. "Tsula. She thought you might want to wash your clothes. They're from the apothecary." Then he walked down the hall to the next room.

Daryl shook his head and held up the clothes. Damn things were double X or somethin'. He took off his dirty ones, put on the sweats and left his room feelin' like an idiot. When he entered the dining room he saw Tsula watching the doorway. She smiled and waved before she turned back around in her seat.

"The blue was a good choice, Tsula," Rand told the little girl.

"Waya said he had blue eyes, Rand," Tsula grinned.

"He did, huh? I noticed them, too."

Daryl glared at Waya. "I used to be a cop. Habit," he shrugged.

"There's not much that gets by me," Rand smirked.

"Y'all better knock it the hell off," he grumbled.

"Leave the man alone, Rand," Seth chuckled as he ate. "Good."

"I have my moments," she repeated. "Zipline? That'll work. Until we get more people. I'm with Adrian. Doing these little trips are time consuming, wasteful and potentially open us up for some unfriendly visitors. I thought about it when Michonne and I were looking this place over. Daryl and Waya did a good job with the hardware store but I think we should take it all. The same with the department store. The toiletries, clothes, etc. When we get new people? Who the hell knows what they'll have."

"Nothin'," Daryl interjected.

"Probably. If people find a place they won't leave unless they lose it to walkers or it's taken over by dicks."

"Kicked out," he muttered.

"Or kicked out. We want to offer them something. We have the inventory of what was in the hotel and apothecary. We've been eating the food. Some of it. I'd like for us to concentrate on the farm tomorrow. If we get it taken care of, plants grow when they grow, us standing over them won't make anything grow faster, we can all go to town. The department store, the hardware store, grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants and the bars. The following few days we go and do a search of the homes taking food, clothes, toiletries, drugs, guns, movies, books, what have you. After we've done that, Daryl and whomever he needs, can cut down those trees he suggested. We can weather the wood. Oh, we need to look at the chimneys. Daryl knows what to look for so someone, including me, can learn. That okay with you, Daryl?"

"Fine."

"In the next few weeks I'd like to go back to your base," she said to Seth. "I'll need directions."

"Ah, we're going with you, Rand," Adrian insisted.

"I'll go. I was in the army," Waya volunteered.

"I can do it myself."

"No you can't. If you try and take everything it'll take you a lot of trips, Rand. If we go with you," Seth pointed to himself, Adrian and Waya, "we can take the gas and more trucks from the motor pool."

"And some of those things won't be any good without tanks or bombers," Adrian pointed out.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Michonne finally said somethin'.

"It took us, what, three days to get here?" Seth looked to Adrian for confirmation.

"We slept, too, Seth. A day, if we take turns? The base? Myers opened the gates and shot a gun. He attracted a lot of walkers. It would depend on how many walkers."

"Are munitions and fuel still stored near the back?" Waya asked.

"Yes."

"We can drive the truck to the other side of the base and start a fire. Go where we need to go, take what we're going to take and leave. Two or three days if we bust ass."

Daryl raised his eyebrows at Waya. The man hardly said anythin' now he was just chatterin' away.

"A week and a half? We'll need to rest if we're all taking a truck," Rand finally looked at Michonne.

"What are we doin'?" Daryl narrowed his eyes at Rand.

"We need a backup place. In case we lose this to dicks. Try and find one."

"You think we'll need one?" Michonne paused her fork.

"I'm not sure. Like I said, luck is a fickle bitch. Daryl was in a prison that was lost to a tank. Could it happen here? Probably not now. My last two places I had a list of possibles where I could go if I needed. This was one. It was on my list of things to do, check this place out, but I wasn't at my last place long. A few months, until some dick took it over. Something else. This dick disagreed with the way it was being run, so I'd like to make a set of rules now. When we bring in any new people, I want to have a united front. Personally, I don't want guns inside the walls. Walkers aren't the issue. People are the issue. And some people are dicks. We'll need some kind of lock or something on the guardroom. A metal door with a coded lock only we have the code to."

"You in Alexandria?" Daryl lifted his head.

"Alexandria, Virginia? No. I was at a hotel along the Appalachian Trail. I figured walkers wouldn't be too much of a problem. The lady that ran the place had fences, they sucked, I won't lie, but they didn't have too much of a walker presence. Not around a major city. We have walls and a moat. We won't need to kill them at the fences. Knives? Sure. I met a woman who had someone die inside their building. Why she lost her place. The man came back and bit a few people. Panic in the streets. Thoughts?" Rand looked at everyone at the table.

"No personal guns inside the walls," Waya voted.

"I have to agree. Coming from a country that didn't allow guns, except in certain circumstances, no personal guns inside the walls," Adrian nodded.

"Gun safety, though. We'll need an age for watch, if we get a lot of people," Seth advised. "Guns for the battlements. After your shift you turn it in."

"People that want to go outside?" Michonne brought up.

"Mm. Good point," Rand mused. "Segregate personal firearms. Check them in and out if you leave. Shit. We sound like the gun police now."

"That one," Daryl said. "Like ya said, we'd be the gun police, but we also don't have a walker problem. Hell, they'd just fall in the moat anyways. Knives? Yeah, someone could die inside then we'd have a problem."

At the prison it was mostly his group that carried a gun and still killed walkers at the fences. Better than the prison. No fences. People were dicks. If Pete Anderson had thought to get a gun, more people, Rick, Carol and the others could have been killed.