Rand needed to get the hell out of here for a little while. These new people were going to kill her. They hadn't done anything, but it was just the thought of more people. "Tom, I'm leaving for a week or so. Go check on those women."

"Alright. Any special instructions?"

"You comin' back?" Daryl narrowed his eyes at her.

"Just the normal and yes, I'm coming back." She pushed her empty plate away. "I'm not much of a liar, Daryl. It's a waste of time, in my opinion. If you and Michonne want to come with me, I encourage it. I'd like someone else to know where they are."

"What women?" Bradford spoke up.

"Some women that were being held hostage with Mark and I," Tom jumped in.

"Thank you, Tom. They're out there by themselves, much like you."

"They didn't want to come here?" Helen asked as she sat down and poured coffee. "I can't believe you have coffee."

"It's why I liked hotels," Rand commented before taking her own sip. "They didn't ask to come. We won't force anyone to come and stay here."

"Thank you for letting us stay," Bradford nodded.

"It's beneficial for everyone. We got eggs and more for watch. You and your family got a protected place. The kids have more kids to play with." She stood up. "I'm not scheduled for KP, I know Waya is. I'll take it. You and Tsula can take my place."

He nodded in acknowledgement.

"If you two want to come give me an hour. I'll meet you at the car." She took her dishes and went into the kitchen. She started water and looked behind her at the noise to see Waya, Seth and Adrian. They walked in and leaned against the prep table.

"Are you coming back?" Seth asked.

"I am. Even if it's only to drop off Daryl and Michonne."

"Feeling crowded?" Waya raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." She turned and leaned against the sink, leaving the dishes for a minute. "When I first decided to check this place out, after my other places, being on my own, where I control, seemed the best. It was perfect. This place hadn't opened, it's somewhat isolated and I can take care of myself. I would have done all of this anyway. I might not be as far along as we are now, but I would have gotten there." She let out a breath. "It's just been us. Seven's not that much, but having to interact with new personalities? It'll take some getting used to. Plus, if we befriend these women? Mutually beneficial arrangement. If they see something they may say something. Or they'll just want to come back with us. We could use the people. Take them out, see what they can do, put them on the schedule. We need a backup place. Michonne and Daryl haven't been working on it. We need to."

"We'd find you," Adrian warned.

She laughed. "You four? I'd be in trouble."

"Four?" Adrian asked.

"You, Seth, Waya and Tsula."

"Daryl and Michonne?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe."

"Trust me, they would," Waya responded.

"For what it's worth, Rand, you're a good leader," Seth complimented.

"Thanks. That means a lot."

Daryl sat in the passenger seat, Michonne in the back, when Rand pulled onto the freeway headin' north. She didn't say anythin', not a damn word after tellin' them they was goin' north of Harrisonburg. It was different. Last time he rode with Rand she was on his lap, after the hardware store.

She pulled off the freeway at New Market and drove around.

"What are we doin?"

"Finding a place to stash the car. I'd rather not leave it out," she replied. She found a neighborhood with dingy homes and tall grass. Daryl even saw a car up on blocks in front of one. Rand stopped outside one, one that had a garage and shut the car off. She sat there lookin' at the chipped yellow paint and the graphitied garage door. "Stay here," she directed before she got out and walked to the house. She looked in the dirty windows, Daryl didn't know if she even saw anythin', before he saw her knock on the door. She waited and did it again. He saw her pull her sword and open the door, movin' back a little.

He and Michonne both got out when they saw her go inside. He looked at Michonne and she was starin' hard. She seemed to relax a little when Rand came back out and gave them a nod before opening the garage. Daryl got in and parked in the empty space while 'Chonne pulled the door down.

"Okay. It'll take a day to get there from here. You can come with me or search this neighborhood for the usual. Guns, drugs, food."

"Come with ya."

"Fine. The last time I was there they, understandably, didn't like men. Daryl, you can't say anything. You stay close to Michonne."

"Fuck that."

"Listen, if these women can trust us they may, in the future, warn us if walkers or dicks come our way. I'd like to make some friends. We have plenty of enemies we haven't even met yet."

Michonne followed behind Daryl as they headed up the Trail. Rand was smart wanting to make friends. Not that the Governor had any interest in making friends. He wanted them dead. Her dead.

"Is it why you didn't offer?" she asked the woman.

"Yes. We do need friends. They really didn't ask. I'd prefer to keep a low profile. We need people. I may have to rethink my strategy. Feel free to chime in with ideas."

"Recruited at our last place," Daryl told her.

"Recruiting. If we were doing runs, I'd say pick them up then. We do need things for a new fence."

Michonne saw Daryl hunch his shoulders a little.

"We need to enclose part of the area around the castle for the cows, bull and goats to graze. I'd like to make it strong and permanent but transparent." Michonne heard her laugh a little. "I'm not sure how that's going to work. I'm still thinking about it."

They were quiet the rest of the walk. Michonne wondered what Rand did before this. She seemed so comfortable, like Daryl, in the woods. Near nightfall they reached a bunch of torn down tents.

"Hell," Rand huffed as she walked closer.

"Stay where you are," a young white girl with a gun poked her head from behind one of them.

She, Daryl and Rand put their hands up. The girl dropped her gun, ran over and hugged Rand. The woman took a step back and kept her hands up as the girl started sobbing. "Get the guns. Leave everything else," she whispered and moved the girl away from the destroyed area.

Rand wanted the girl to let go. She took deep breaths as Michonne and Daryl went through what was left, trying to put something together they could use to sleep in. The girl anyway.

"I don't know," the girl wept into her shirt. "We were sleeping, Joanna had watch. She started screaming. Diana said it was biters. We started shooting. We couldn't see anything. It was dark out. I ran. I hid in the woods until the sounds went away. I came back and saw Lila. She was one of those things. I couldn't do it. I couldn't shoot her. She saw me and started running after me. I hid again. I don't know how long. When I couldn't hear her I came back."

"How long ago?"

"I don't know. A week? I've been here by myself. I didn't know what to do. Diana said we should have asked where you were, but we were scared. The men."

Rand ran her hand up and down the girl's back. "Okay."

The girl looked up. She must have been a teenager. She wasn't one of the ones from camp misery but one of the ones she'd seen when she did drop off Lila. Rand never asked any questions. "Can I come with you?"

"If you like."

The girl started sobbing again. By the time she was cried out she was sleeping. Rand laid her down and looked at the tent they'd be using for the night.

"She goin' with us?" Daryl pointed to her.

"She asked."

"It doesn't look like it was people," Michonne pointed at the tents.

"She said walkers. One of them was on watch, started screaming. The girl ran and hid. Lila, the woman I told you about, became one. The girl couldn't put her down."

"It was still a good idea, Rand," Michonne told her.

"It was. I guess I overestimated Diana. She seemed like she had her shit together." Rand looked around. "Not enough. Fuck."

"Got what guns we could find. You wanna take the food?"

"How much is left?"

"Some. Not a lot. The campin' gear's wrecked," Daryl frowned. "Donkeys? Can look around if you wanna try and find 'em."

"Forget the donkeys. I don't hold out much hope we'd find them quickly, if ever. We'll take her and the guns," Rand decided. "Leave the food. Who knows? Maybe someone that isn't a dick could come along and it could save their lives."

"Still trying to make friends?" Michonne asked.

"Secret Santa. Besides, everyone one needs a break."

If they didn't have a lotta food, Daryl woulda taken it. They did get more guns, somethin' he liked. He looked at the girl in the back of the car with Rand, holdin' onto her hand like the woman was gonna disappear. He still didn't know her name. He didn't think anyone did.

"When we get there we're going to have someone look you over. Take care of your scrapes. We'll give you a room."

"Can't I stay with you?" she asked panicked.

"Or you can stay with me. We'll get another bed put in. You can take a shower and eat. I'll have Tsula give you a tour."

"Tsula?"

"She's one of the kids. Lupe can help."

"Is she one of the kids, too?"

"She is. We have four. Two boys and two girls."

"Are there men there?"

"There are. Daryl, who's driving. Waya, he's Tsula's uncle. Adrian. Seth. Tom and his son, Mark. Bradford. Jacob, he's Bradford's son. Ray and his nephew, Demarcus. They won't hurt you."

The girl relaxed. "Lila said you killed one of the men that was raping her, Trish and Daniella."

"I did."

"Lila said you killed them all."

"I did."

"Will you teach me? To kill bad men?"

"I will."

"What's your name? Diana didn't ask. We just called you Wonder Woman."

Daryl heard Michonne choke. He wanted to laugh.

"Wonder Woman? She was kick ass. I'm not as good as her. My name's Rand. The other amazon warrior up front is Michonne."

"I'm Jenny."

"Alright, Jenny. We have some rules at our place. No guns inside the walls."

"I'm not very good anyway," she whispered.

"We'll fix that. Can you use a knife?"

"No."

"You'll learn that, too. How old are you?"

"I don't know. I was ten when this started."

"You're twelve or thirteen. Watch when you're sixteen. Help protect our place."

"Okay. But I can stay with you, right?"

"You can stay with me."

Michonne was glad to see the fences surrounding the castle when they pulled up the next afternoon. Someone must have been watching, because the drawbridge came down. "What is this place?" she heard Jenny ask.

"It's a castle. The moat," Rand pointed to the water. "This is the drawbridge. Be careful, it's not very safe."

"Okay, Rand."

She and Daryl followed the two and she saw Jenny shrink into Rand as almost everyone was there to meet them.

"Hi, Rand," Mark grinned.

"I see you brought someone back," Waya observed.

"We did. This is Jenny. I told her most everyone's name. If she wants to know who's who, she'll ask. Right now, she needs a shower. Ray, I'll need you to look at her. Tom? Can you please put a rollaway in my room? Jenny's staying with me."

"Sure, Rand."

"And we'll need something to eat. Hot. Soup, maybe."

"I'll go put some on," Helen volunteered before she went into the keep.

"Tsula and Lupe, I told Jenny you'd give her a tour after she eats and sees Ray."

"Okay, Rand," Tsula acknowledged.

Lupe looked at Graciela, who nodded.

Michonne found she understood most of what Rand told Adrian, Seth and Waya, in French. They must have picked up more than she thought they did. Even Daryl looked like he was following the conversation. The woman was smart.

Rand sat on her bed as Jenny showered. The girl looked scared, but she turned on the water, made sure it was warm, showed her the shampoo and conditioner before she exited the bathroom, leaving the door ajar.

Adrian and Seth brought in the rollaway.

"She's staying with you?" Seth raised his eyebrows.

"I guess." Rand flopped on her back. "They called me Wonder Woman."

"A compliment," Adrian noted.

"I don't feel like Wonder Woman. I'm pissed. I thought that woman had her shit together."

"She probably did, Rand, but walkers don't care," Seth pointed out.

"Inconsiderate bastards," she sat back up. "I don't know if she was raped, but she knows Lila and the other two were. She'll be jumpy around guys."

"Noted," Adrian said.

"We found a few possibles. We'd like to go check them out."

Rand looked at Seth. "Feeling claustrophobic?"

"No, but you're right. We need a backup place."

"Take what you need. Take who you need."

"Just us."

"Don't get dead. I'll be pissed."

Adrian laughed. "Of course, my queen."

"Fuck you, Adrian," she rolled her eyes.

"My liege," Seth bowed from the waist, prompting Adrian to do the same. They left her room laughing.

After Jenny got out of the shower, Rand gave her some shorts, sandals and a t-shirt she picked up from the apothecary. The girl had big eyes as they walked toward the dining room. Helen had a bowl of soup on one of the tables and Rand led her to it. Jenny practically inhaled it. She pushed a glass of water over and made her drink some while Helen refilled her bowl. Twice. When Jenny finally slowed down she smiled a little. "All done?"

"Yeah. I don't think I could eat anymore."

"Until dinner. I'm not sure what's on the menu, but I think you should stick with soup for now."

"Okay, Rand."

She stood up, held out her hand and Jenny grabbed onto it. Now that the girl was clean, Rand could see she had brown hair and brown eyes. She was a little on the thin side, but starting to get a distended belly from food deprivation. "Doctor. Let's get some of those cuts cleaned up."

Jenny looked down at her legs. "They hurt."

"I'm sure. One or two look infected."

Her eyes got wide and scared. "Am I going to die?"

"No, you won't die. Ray will fix you up, maybe give you some medicine. You'll be fine and helping with the food in no time."

"I don't know how to cook," Jenny whispered.

"Growing it."

"Growing it?"

"Right," they left the keep and headed to the clinic. "Did you go grocery shopping with your mom?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this is where that food started from, what was in the grocery store."

"By myself?" she shrieked.

"No, not by yourself. We all work with it." Jenny didn't look like she believed her. "Even me."

She seemed to relax and stared at everything. When they went into the clinic they saw Ray waiting.

"Hi, Jenny. I'm Ray. I'm not a real doctor, but I do know something about sick people. I need you to sit up here," he patted the table, "and I'll look at your scrapes."

Jenny looked at her before she climbed on the table. "Don't go anywhere," she pleaded.

"I won't."

Ray hemmed and hawed, cleaned up most of the scrapes on her legs and arms before sitting back on the stool. "Well, Jenny, a few of these are infected. I'm going to cut them open and drain them. It'll hurt. I'll put some band aids on them and give you some medicine. You have to take it all, but when you're done, they'll be healed."

"Okay," she whispered.

Rand stood close and held her hand as Ray cut open the two that looked bad, causing Jenny to start crying. Rand squeezed her hand reassuringly. Ray drained them both and put ointment and band aids on them before having her take a pill.

"That hurt," she whimpered through her tears.

"I'm sure it did. But you won't have to go through it again." He looked at her. "They were infected. I drained them. Have her take one of these according to the directions. I'll start her off with ten. If still looks bad, uh, I'll think of something." Ray passed her a bottle.

"Thanks, Ray," she acknowledged.

"I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be in here."

"You're the closest thing we have to a doctor."

"I'm not," he argued.

"You are now. We're big boys and girls. We know you won't be able to do surgery. If we need surgery, we're dead. We understand. Just do what you can. You need anything in here?"

He scoffed. "No. Not that I can see. You have a lot."

"We do. If you need anything else, tell Tom. Adrian and Seth are leaving for a while. Or Daryl and Michonne can get what you need. Come on, Jenny. Let's find Tsula and Lupe. Get you that tour."

Jenny hopped off the table, grabbed her hand and they left the clinic.

Daryl had spent the time since they got back cleanin' the guns they'd taken from that camp. A few he set aside to have Adrian or Seth look at, see if they could still be used. When his stomach growled he made his way to the dining room to see everyone else comin' in and sittin' down. He shook his head when he saw a couple of the tables pushed together. He went and found his regular seat, next 'Chonne. Helen put a plate of chicken and some vegetables in front of him and he started to eat.

He wasn't really payin' attention to Rand or Jenny as he was talkin' to Seth about them guns, until raised voices got their attention.

"…only a child, Rand," he saw Helen chastise the woman. Daryl noticed everyone stopped eating.

"No she's not. She stopped being a child when this happened."

He saw Helen raise her eyebrows. "Then it's all the more reason to let her experience some semblance of a normal childhood."

"I don't disagree, Helen, if doesn't get her killed."

"Killing people? Is it necessary to teach her that?" Helen sounded outraged.