Jenny sat and pulled weeds with Mark and Tsula while they buried Steve, Thomas and Graciela. She didn't want to go and no one made her. She felt bad for Lupe; her mom dying. Her mom died before the walkers. Her dad? After, the bad men Diana told her he died and she stayed with Diana and her daughter Heather.

She was scared for Rand.

"Rand kills dicks," Mark said.

"What?" she looked at the two kids with a frown.

"Rand kills the dicks," Tsula repeated.

"You said you were scared for Rand," Mark told her. "Rand kills dicks."

Tsula nodded. "I saw her kill a dick once, when we first got here."

"Waya, Seth and Adrian are with her. They kill dicks, too."

"Did you see them do it to?" Jenny asked.

Tsula shook her head. "No but they like Rand. They'll kill the dicks to help Rand."

"They like us too, Tsula, not just Rand," Mark frowned.

"Michonne and Daryl kill dicks," Tsula added.

"My dad, too," Mark sounded proud.

Janet put together a light dinner for anyone that wanted to eat. She found Lupe laying on one of the sofas in the lobby, finally asleep. Her heart hurt for that little girl.

"She's finally asleep," Helen whispered beside her.

"She should move in with one of you," Tom also whispered when he brought out some of the soup she'd made.

"Bradford and I," Helen volunteered.

"She can stay with me, Helen," Janet answered as they sat down in the circle of chairs away from Lupe.

Jamal sat on the arm of the chair Janet was sitting in. He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry about Steve," he murmured.

Janet gave him a wan smile. She'd known Steve from school, but she'd had a boyfriend until this. Lately they'd started talking. Janet took his hand and squeezed. "Thank you."

Daryl knocked on Michonne's door the next morning. He was kinda worried about her. When she opened it she stood back and let him in.

He moved to the little sofa and sat down, holding out a cup of coffee. She took it and sat next to him, sighing after she sipped.

"You alright?" he asked.

"No. You?"

He hated they lost people. "Still here."

She nodded in agreement. "Better than," she trailed off. He knew what she was going to say. Better than the prison. He didn't really accept it until now he could have lost her then. The Governor had her outside the fences. They did lose Hershel.

She took another sip of coffee and put her head against the back of the sofa. "Is it bad I'm happy we're still here?"

"Nah."

She hummed a noise.

"It ain't, 'Chonne. Yeah, it fuckin' sucks we lost Graciela, Thomas and Steve. We lost more in the past. The flu, the Governor. Shit, we lost a home with that asshole."

"Did you consider the prison your home?" she turned her head and looked at him.

He shrugged. "Yeah. Kinda. Mean, after the farm, we wandered. The prison, it was a shithole, but we had fences, strong buildings, water was close. I hunted, kept some food comin' in along with doin' runs. We had a garden. We had pigs. Didn't you?"

She turned away and took another sip. "No. For me it was a steady place to stay while I looked for the Governor, until the Big Stop run."

He grunted.

"It's why I wanted Alexandria to work out. I wanted a home."

"Got one. A damn good one," he said.

She surprised him when she kissed him. When she pulled away she was smilin' a little. "We do. We have a damn good home." She settled in close to him, her head on his shoulder.

She didn't know how long they sat like that. Not long. She, they, had to get out there and get some sort of watch going, someone needed to check on the kids. She sat up quickly. "Shit. Jenny."

Daryl stood up with her now empty cup. "Helen took care of her. Made sure she went to ate and went to bed."

"Good."

"We was out lookin' at the fence and the farm, checkin' the animals. She found me before I went to bed."

Michonne nodded. "We need to get a watch together with who we have left. Someone should probably stay with Lupe, for a while anyway," she continued as she stood and headed for the door, Daryl following.

When they reached the dining room her heart sank a little. Lupe was sitting next to Janet, not eating the eggs in front of her. She headed for her regular chair and poured coffee and heaped eggs on her own plate along with some toast. When she noticed everyone was done eating what they could she cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Thank you, Bradford and Ray, for taking watch last night. Until the Four get back we'll have watch in the castle only."

"You think they'll come back? Anyone that lived anyway," Jamal sneered.

"Nah. Only one car got away. They know we got some serious shit," Daryl answered.

"I agree with Daryl. They know we have some serious shit. If they were dicks, killing and stealing, any other places they visited probably didn't have serious shit."

"Will Rand be okay?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, Jenny, Rand will be okay. Waya, Seth and Adrian are with her," she assured the little girl.

"Didn't your group call her Wonder Woman?" Daryl rolled his eyes.

Michonne coughed. "She'll be fine. Watch for now will be two people walking the castle at all times, four hour shifts. We still have to keep up with the animals and the farm. Bradford and Ray, you get a pass until tomorrow. Daryl and Tom will do four this morning, Janet and Jamal, Helen and Jake. I'll take last."

"What about me? I can do it to, Michonne," Jenny raised her voice.

"You can, but we still need to keep up with the farm and the animals," she repeated. "That'll be up to you, Mark, Tsula, Demarcus and Lupe, if she wants."

"You shouldn't be by yourself, Michonne. I'll be ready tonight," Bradford insisted.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," Michonne nodded at him.

"Wanna try and keep walkers out of the moat, if we can. Tom, we got any boards?" Daryl questioned.

"We have some, yes. Probably not enough to cover the entire moat though, Daryl," he replied.

"It didn't look like there were a lot when we came in," Ray told them.

"Huh. Pull out what we have. Cover what's near the open fence. As much as we can. Can take down some of the doors of the rooms we ain't usin," he recommended.

"The outbuildings. We'll take those doors," she nodded. "Jake, can you start there?"

"Yeah. It's a good idea. I like to swim in it when it's warm out."

"I know it'll give the walkers a way over, but I'd like to keep the moat walker free, too," Michonne decided. "When the Four get back we'll be have enough people to put the fence back up."

"The kids can also do the cleaning and dishes," Tom added.

"Alright, we have a plan. Let's get to it," Michonne announced and stood up. Tom directed Mark and Tsula to clean off the table and Jenny to do the dishes and sent Demarcus down to the farm. "Helen, Janet?" she called their names. She saw they exchanged looks before they followed her to the lobby. "I know Lupe's not alright," Michonne said. "Hell, none of us are alright."

"She's staying with me," Janet stated.

"Tom told me. It's why I separated you. You're both closer to her. I'm not sure what else to do. The other kids I've known after this had at least one parent, aside from Jenny. She has Rand now," Michonne trailed off.

Helen patted her arm. "We just need to be here for her, Michonne. We have good people. We'll get through this."

Janet smiled a little in agreement before both women left her alone. She knew they would. They were good people. She briefly closed her eyes then went to go find Jake and get started on the moat. Maybe they should try and put the fence back up.

"Not enough people," Daryl muttered into his lunch. He was spoiled. Boxed mac and cheese sucked. He'd eat it because they were stretched thin. Him and Tom just finished their watch shift and this is what the man made. Daryl'd eat it. They had shit to do. Finish those doors, maybe throw some of the torn down fence across it. Might be easier.

"Hey," Michonne greeted as she sat beside him. "Anything?"

"Nah. Walkers is mostly still by the smokin' cars, good for us."

"Yeah, good for us. We put the boards across. Jake measured the doors and they're too short. I'm thinking some of the fencing."

"Just in the front," Daryl recommended.

"What I thought. We'll get started before I start watch," Michonne replied.

Daryl almost laughed at the look on her face when she filled her plate and mumbled under her breath.

"Jenny?" she shot him a look before taking a bite.

"Bradford and Helen got them down at the farm. Sure Tom's got them set to clean up. Good for 'em." He shifted in his chair. "Sucks, don't it?"

Michonne narrowed her eyes as she looked at her sad lookin' mac and cheese. "Spoiled, aren't we?" she commented.

"Think we deserve a little spoilin'," he countered. "'Specially after."

"Yeah. Dicks," she snarled.

"Dead dicks now," Daryl smirked.

Michonne smiled an evil smile at her plate. "Did you want to try and track the last car?"

"Nah. Got no way of knowing which way they went. If I had someone to go with me, you or one of the Four, sure. Maybe right after, but I didn't want to leave y'all here by yourselves."

She looked at him unimpressed.

"What? Don't mean you couldn't handle it, 'Chonne. Just…I needed to be here."

She nodded before she finished her lunch, pushing her empty plate away. "Thank you."

"We still got some serious shit. Doin' that base run was a good idea."

"Yeah," 'Chonne sighed and sipped her water. "I hope not many groups did runs on bases."

"From what Seth and Adrian told us, most of them probably ran just like theirs. People lost their fuckin' minds, not just on bases. Them two kept their heads. The only other group we've seen with serious shit was the Governor's group. They only had a tank."

"True," she agreed. "It was enough."

"It was. It ain't now though," he smiled is own evil smile her way.

She nudged him with her shoulder. "Can you handle the rest? I want to get some sleep before my shift."

"Yeah. Tom, me and Jenny can finish."

Michonne raised her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes. "Girl's gonna wanna help. Have her kill the walkers."

"Hm. She has been working with Rand," she murmured.

"She's good." Daryl looked around before he turned back to Michonne. "You ever wanna ask what she did?"

Michonne narrowed her eyes as she stared across the tables in the dining room. The group had pushed some of them together, making one long table. Like in advertisements for holidays with family sitting around, dishing out food or whatever was being sold, leaving the others spread out. She wondered why they never changed anything in here.

"She wasn't a lawyer," she confessed.

Daryl stared.

"I was."

"No shit," he goggled.

Michonne never told anyone, not even Andrea, what she'd done before this. Except Rand.

"Must be why you're good killin' walkers. Damn shark lawyer."

Michonne felt her mouth fall open when she turned her head and saw the teasing look on his face. She laughed a little. "And don't you forget it, Mr. Dixon."

He stood and took both of their plates. "I won't, 'Chonne. Should get some sleep." He left her sitting in the dining room by herself. She turned and saw Jake and Helen heading for the table. She laughed again when they looked at lunch with frowns on their faces.

"I used to eat this stuff when I was younger," Jake said as he put clumps of it on his plate. Helen took the spoon and dished her own.

"I made it for you. Looking at it now I'm not sure why," Helen responded.

"It always was better hot," Jake smiled at his mom. "Thanks."

Michonne left when Helen hugged and kissed her son. They didn't notice. She went to her room, stripped to her underwear and laid down. She wasn't tired and she had some hours before she and Bradford started watch. She stared sightlessly at the ceiling.

Daryl looked at the boards and part of the fence that spanned the moat. The walkers were gettin' interested in them now the cars were just smokin' and no one left alive. He eyed Jenny as she pointed her gun, with a silencer, and shot them as they got near. The girl was a good shot. Helluva shot for not knowin' how to use a gun that good six months ago. He nodded his head in the direction of the castle, she shot another one before leaving. Tom just rolled his eyes and took off his gloves before following with Demarcus. Daryl took another look, it was sloppy as shit, but workable right now. He couldn't wait for Rand and the stooges to get back.

Taking a seat on his bench he leaned his head back, closed his eyes and listened to the cows and chickens. Inside no one could really hear the walkers. It was nice. One of the hardest things to get used to when he came back. Even walking the battlements they couldn't be heard. Not that they had a lot, only when they worked outside.

He lit a cigarette, lots of people smoked in Bridgewater, and listened as Janet and Jamal reported they'd seen nothing but walkers and the smoking cars to Helen and Jake during shift change. Good. Daryl was pretty sure they'd be okay for a minute.

He laughed to himself. 'Chonne was a lawyer. Shit. She was smart so he wasn't that surprised. Kinda he was. He couldn't imagine Michonne in one of them business suits, like lawyers wore on TV shows. He bet she looked hot. He tossed his cigarette butt in the can by the bench, stood up and headed in to see what was for dinner. When he made it to the table he wasn't disappointed to see salad.

Michonne walked the battlements, not seeing or hearing a damn thing, which was good and bad. It was better than the prison where they could hear walkers at night. She did like living here. If she closed her eyes during the day she could pretend the walkers weren't even there.

She wondered how she would have handled this if she and Daryl had been in charge. Probably not as well as they did. It was a relief to know that she wasn't the leader.

"Hey," Daryl's voice came from in front of her in the dark.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" she questioned softly. She didn't know why he was up, everyone else was sleeping except for Bradford.

"Couldn't sleep."

"You have watch in the morning," she reminded him.

"I can do it. Not that spoiled, 'Chonne," he responded.

"Nothing," she reported.

"Nice not hearin' them bastards."

"It is nice."

"You alright?"

She shrugged, not that he could see it. "I'm glad I'm not the leader," she replied after a few minutes of silent walking.

"Yeah, me too. I mean, I'm glad I'm not the leader, too. I think you'd be a good one."

She smiled in the dark. "Thanks."

She didn't know how long Daryl stayed with her, a few laps around the battlements, which wasn't easy at night. It'd taken them all some time to get used to doing it without flashlights. The outside lights of the keep helped. Daryl squeezed her hand before he left and she finished her shift feeling…alright.

When she got up the next day she headed to the dining room. Noting it was empty she made her way to the kitchen and plated the leftover salad from last night's dinner before making her way back to the dining room. Michonne didn't know where anyone was and debated going outside to find them. Daryl was up, she was sure. He could handle it.

Daryl found Ray in the dining room before he was scheduled to do watch with Tom. "Ray, you and Tom got the mornin'. I'm gonna be around."

"Sounds good," he acknowledged with his coffee mug.

He listened as Tom told the kids what chores he wanted done before they were to sit with Helen for lessons. Lupe didn't say anything so he didn't feel the need to say anything to Janet, who ran her hand over the little girl's hair, 'cause it looked like she agreed. Yeah, it sucked she lost her momma, but that shit wasn't gonna change. He knew Helen wouldn't push it. She needed to be around people. Jenny held out her hand and Lupe took it before they left the dining room. He exhaled when he heard the front door to the keep slam shut. He sent Tsula, Mark and Demarcus down after the girls and washed the dishes. He was used to doin' it now. Before this his old man and momma ate out or on paper plates. Not that they cared about him or Merle eatin'.

After he wiped down the table Daryl went and checked on the kids before checkin' in with watch. Aside from switchin' out with Ray Daryl just floated around the castle, checkin' everythin'. He spent time with the others on watch, checked in with Tom, made sure he was okay, made sure Helen was alright, the kids were doin' their homework, not givin' Helen a hard time. He found Michonne with the horse, brushing it, and he told her he'd take the night shift with Bradford.

"You got this?"

"Yes. You should get some sleep," she advised.

"It's where I'm goin' now. Helen had lessons, think they're done now. Don't know where the kids are. Tom's in the keep checkin' inventory on weapons. Think Ray's in the clinic doin' inventory there."

She put the brush up, patted Spot's muzzle and walked over to the fence, leaning her arms on the top rail. "How is everyone?"

"Lupe spent time with Jenny. Don't think it'll get better for her for a while." He shrugged. "Fine, I guess. We all know it coulda been a lot worse."

She patted his hand. "We do know that. We'll get there."

"They should be back in a few days."

"I'll get started on schedules."

Michonne groaned as she looked out her window and saw it was daylight. Looking at the clock she saw it was almost five. She'd go relieve Daryl and have him take the afternoon of watching over the castle. Letting out a sigh she got up and headed for the shower. She didn't realize how much Rand did. It didn't look like a lot until she started working the schedules. Removing Graciela, Steve and Thomas' names had hurt. Trying to reschedule with Rand, Waya, Seth and Adrian included was difficult.

She'd also walked the castle. Checking on everyone, making sure they were as good they could be. Tom and Ray had dropped off their inventories and she'd updated those. They needed to start a list of things for a run to replace what they lost. They were out of barbed wire and rebar spikes but still had some cement.

Stepping out of the shower to dry off she realized she and Daryl did what Rand did. The woman, when not on watch, teaching Jenny karate or sleeping was always around. Touching base with everyone, helping on the farm or just there. Now she knew she and Daryl could run a place, but…she didn't want to. She knew Daryl didn't want to, either. She couldn't wait until Rand got home.

Daryl had Tsula walk the parapet near the front every half hour or so. Rand said they'd be gone about a week and her time was almost up. He didn't mind watching over everythin' but he couldn't do it all the damn time. The first three days the Four were gone was easy. They had a job they had to do and they did it. The first day after the attack was hard. The second day was still hard. The other days were better. He wondered if they'd kept the prison if they would have settled down like this. They wouldn't forget but they'd get through it, like Michonne said.

He heard Tsula yell "Waya."