Chapter 20: Duty.

Sarah stepped into the staffroom. Her feet were glued to the floor and her eyes scanned the candles. Her heart was beginning to beat faster in her chest and she felt the overwhelming urge to cry, but she fought it off. She stood behind him, his eyes watching her reaction, hoping that what he was doing was right. He walked past her and stepped into the middle of the circle of candles. He rubbed the back of his neck and then let his hands fall to his sides.

Sarah's eyes found Dean and she looked at him for an answer. He sighed, staring contently into her baby blue eyes.

"Sarah-"

"Don't, please Dean I can't-"

"I love you," He interjected and she blinked blankly. "Sarah, I know I'm a lot older than you, but I've never felt this way about anyone before. I've never actually had someone who I'm willing to die for and for you I'd do anything. I know you think your ugly, because you don't have a hand-"

"No need to rub it in!" She hissed.

"I'm not...Sarah you're not ugly, girl you're the most beautiful person I've ever laid eyes on, you're like an angel sent from above," He whispered and he could feel hot tears burning in his eyes.

"Dean..." Sarah gazed at him. She didn't think she was beautiful and she certainly wasn't an angel sent from above.

"What's it going to take? What's it gonna' take for me to prove how much I love you, and how beautiful you are?"

"Dean, please-"

"No, I hate hearing you say that you're not beautiful! You could have scars all over your face and your still be the prettiest fuckin' girl I've ever laid eyes!" He raised his voice and she carefully shut the door behind her. The clicking sound echoing around in the silence.

Dean's chest was heaving in anger. He glared daggers at her waiting for her to respond, but she just kept her back against the door, looking anywhere, but him.

"Do you love me?" He asked. "God, I've been so stupid, instead of you being the love struck teenager, it's been me!"

"Don't call me a teenager!" She snapped back and he scoffed.

"Let's be honest, you're the one who's been acting like one!" He hissed back and she gasped.

"Take that back!" She demanded, stomping her foot.

"No!" He yelled.

"TAKE IT BACK!" She screeched.

"Make me," He whispered, tilting his head in a patronizing manner.

Sarah pushed herself off from the door and she charged forward. Her arms flung around his neck and she pulled his face down to her and crashed her lips against his. Dean unfolded his arms and wrapped them around her body, pulling her closer to his.

The kiss was rough, filled with so much passion. She used her only hand and brought it up to his face, burying her fingertips in his hair, tugging on it gently. She molded her body against his, and Dean urged her up onto to her tiptoes.

Back at the farm they'd never kissed this way and it was a whole new experience for her. She felt something hard press against her and she soon realized it was Dean's erection. She began to panic and she pulled away.

"Okay, I take it back," He whispered and she smiled. He brought up his hand and stroked the side of her face. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

...

Austin sat in the main room, his finger drumming against the metal table. His eyes were glued on Kira's, his blood boiling. She almost made Ally kill herself, he wasn't going to treat her with respect. She deserved to burn in hell.

Ally had gone to check on Eric, the man they'd brought in. Austin tilted his head and Kira looked over at him. She gulped in fear and he got up from his seat and walked over to her.

"I-I don't want any trouble," She stammered and he sat down opposite her.

"Ally told me about the things you did to her," He said.

"That's in the past now-"

"Do you really think I give a fuck that it happened in the past. She tried to kill herself, because of you," He stated and his hands formed into fists.

"I-I didn't know that," She stuttered.

"Well, now you do. She's carrying my child and you think its okay to waltzed in here and call her weak?" He questioned and Kira avoided eye contact with him.

"I'm sorry," She sulked.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to. She's a forgiving person, but I'm not," He stated.

"I just wanna' make sure Eric is okay and then we can leave. We won't bother you again," She explained.

"I hope not," He got up from his chair and walked into the cellblock. He walked into the cell Ally and Cal were in. She looked over her shoulder and smiled sweetly at him.

"Hi," Ally greeted and she placed a wet flannel on Eric's head.

"How's he doing?" Austin asked.

"He'll be fine. We just need to see if he wakes up," Cal explained.

"Good. The quicker he wakes up, the quicker they can leave," Austin sighed.

"They aren't staying?" Cal quizzed and he looked over at Ally.

"No, Eric can stay, but she can't," Ally muttered.

"Am I missing something? I thought this place was meant be a place for anyone?" Cal stood tall and Ally shrunk back a bit.

"It is, but just not for her," Ally replied. "We'll talk about it when he wakes up," Austin reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the cell.

They walked into the main room and Ally didn't even glance in Kira's direction, she carried on towards the door and stepped outside. Austin gave her hand a squeeze and she smiled over at him.

Nevil and Jess were chasing each other around the stands and Ally looked up at Austin and she raised her eyebrow.

"I hear you got a letter from Jess?" She asked.

"I did..." He looked away from Ally and smirked. "It was cute."

"Wow, I never thought I'd ever hear you say cute," She giggled.

Nevil and Jess stopped chasing one another and they looked over at them. They both glanced at one another, then stood up straight and walked over.

"Hi," Nevil beamed up at them.

"So?" Jess giggled and Nevil nudged her hard. "Hey! That hurt!" She pushed him back and Nevil yelled, pushing her back harder. "Stop!" Jess squealed and they both fell to the floor in a bundled heap, throwing punches at each other.

Austin and Ally looked at one another and then Austin stepped forward and picked Jess up and Ally picked Nevil up. They both continued to kick and swing their arms and legs into the thin air and Ally laughed.

"You too, stop," She ordered. "Now, I thought we were going to have a little celebration, seeing that I'm your new mommy and Austin's your new daddy."

They both stopped moving and Nevil looked over his shoulder and up at her.

"Really?" He chirped and she nodded.

"Yay!" Jess joined in and Austin and Ally put them down. "When can we celebrate?" Jess asked.

"Tonight," Ally said.

"C'mon Jess, let's go tell the others," Nevil grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.

"They better not do that all the time," Austin muttered.

"I think it's cute," Ally chirped and Austin groaned.

"I can't find her," They both turned around and looked at a mud covered Ronny. His eyes were wide and alert to his surroundings and he had a death grip hold on his knife.

"Ronny," Ally stepped forward and he took a step back.

"She's gone," He muttered.

"Ronny, let's get you inside," Ally reached out and touched his arm and his gaze snapped to it, as if her touch burnt.

"I need to go back out and look for her," He said.

"No, you need to come inside and get yourself cleaned up. We'll send someone else out looking for her," Ally pulled on his arm and he reluctantly followed. Ally sent a worried look at Austin and he returned it. Ally disappeared inside with Ronny and Austin walked down the dirt path, towards the guard tower.

He stepped out of the small gap in the gate and scanned the area. His eyes focusing on the creepers staggering around. He knew Julie had to be out there somewhere, she couldn't have gone far.

...

Roxana looked over and her eyes widened when she saw Ronny. She got up from her seat and ran over.

"Are you okay?" She asked and she looked at Ally.

"He didn't find Julie. He needs to get cleaned up," She explained and Roxana nodded her head.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up," Roxana took Ronny's arm and led him away and down the corridor. Ally sighed and watched their retreating forms. Her hands went to her stomach and she moved them in small circles.

"Hi," Elliot stepped out of the shadows and Ally jumped.

"Jesus, Elliot you scared the crap outta' me!" She yelled and he chuckled.

"I'm here to pass on a message," He said.

"Okay, what would that be?" She asked.

"Mary would like to talk to you," He replied.

"About?" Elliot shrugged his shoulders and she smiled. "Okay, I'll go see her now."

Ally spun around on her heel and walked into the cellblock. She headed up the stairs and over to the cell Mary was resting in. She leaned against the wall and looked at her. She was holding Tom in her arms.

Mary looked over at her and smiled, so Ally stepped into the cell and Mary gestured to Tom in her arms and nodded towards the makeshift crib. Ally took Tom from her arms and put the sleeping baby down.

Ally pulled the chair from under the desk and sat down on it. Mary shifted in the bed and sat up straight. Ally could tell by the expression on her face, that whatever she wanted to talk to her about, wasn't good and she felt a chill shoot through her body.

"How are you feeling?" Ally asked.

"Fine," She replied.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Ally pushed. She could see the pain in Mary's eyes and she felt like someone was stabbing her heart.

"I was with Wayne..." Mary looked back at Ally with teary eyes and Ally began to shake her head frantically.

"H-He can't be dead," Ally stammered.

"He's not," She interjected, then shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm not sure."

"Mary, tell me," Ally begged.

"When the fire happened and you helped me out, I couldn't find you, then I realized everyone was gone, but I saw Wayne standing by the barn, killing a few more creepers. We both left in one of the trucks. I was in tears and he did everything to calm me down, he only cared about me, even though he was cut up himself. Then we settled down in a house that we'd come across and he left me there to go find supplies, he came back with nothing for him, but everything for me. He didn't even think about himself, always focusing on other people and not himself. I finally managed to clean his wounds up and then we started searching, rarely stayed in one place for more than a day. I could see it in his eyes, he thought he failed us all, it was killing him. We got caught up in a herd of creepers and Wayne lost his hat and it was like he'd given up. Then we came across Verndale and them people were not nice, Wayne said they could take him and leave me. So, they locked me in an apartment and locked Wayne up. Then on one of the nights they were talking about an execution, I thought they were on about Wayne so I got out and I went to find him. He was beaten up bad and he could barely stand. We managed to get out and we went into the woods and I found a cabin, so we stayed there and I had to stitch up his wounds. It was then Wayne told me something...I could tell he was broken and the inner leader inside of him was dying, he just wanted to find everyone. He said that he didn't want to die without anyone knowing...he was going to tell you, but that was on the night the barn was set on fire. After that we started looking again and we kept coming up empty-handed. Then I got separated from him, we were sleeping in this house and someone started shooting at us through the windows. Wayne told me to run and don't look back. I ran, but I stayed nearby, waiting for the gunshots to stop, and when they did I crept back...The place was packed with creepers. I screamed his name, but he wasn't replying. So, I had to leave, then I was on my own, until I stumbled across you guys..." Ally searched her eyes for an answer and she felt her heart thundering in her chest, threatening to break out of her rib cage.

"What was he going to tell me?" Ally's voice was raspy and hot tears were burning her eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid Ally," Mary whispered.

"Stupid? W-Why would I do anything stupid?" Ally questioned.

"Ally. Wayne's your Uncle."

...

Austin smiled as he looked over his shoulder. He'd searched the woods for Julie and he'd found something so much better. He'd found her, Kyle and Lexi. Julie was bouncing Julie up and down on her hip and kissing her hair. Kyle had his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

The only thing missing was George.

Austin understood that they were happy to be together again, but their son was still out there somewhere. Hopefully safe and sound. Austin shifted his crossbow on his back and Kyle walked up next to him.

"How's life?" Kyle asked and Austin smirked.

"Great," He retorted and Kyle fake gasped.

"Did you just...smile?" He mocked.

"Yeah, just let all the laughter out now," Austin replied.

"He smiles all the time," Julie pointed out. "It's because he's with Ally."

"Really? Wow, 'bout time," Kyle patted Austin's shoulder and he rolled his eyes in response. "You could see it comin' from a mile away."

"And she's pregnant," Julie added and Lexi cooed, shaking the rattle in her hands.

"Pregnant!" Kyle bellowed. "Congratulations buddy," He ruffled his hair and Austin pushed his hands away.

"He's also inherited two other children-" Austin glared at her. "So, I've heard," She giggled. "I heard Ally telling Harriet."

"You're all grown up," Kyle chirped.

"Stop," Austin groaned, rubbing his hand over his face.

"I'm happy for you," Kyle said.

"Thank you," Austin replied.

"Dada," Lexi blubbered and she dropped her rattle on the floor. Julie picked it up and placed it back in her small hands.

Austin's eyes scanned the trees. They were following the dirt road back to the prison and he knew they weren't that far away now. He adjusted his crossbow on his back and Kyle returned to putting his arm over Julie's shoulder.

The snapping of a twig caught his attention and he slowly got his crossbow ready. He held it up ready and he loaded it up. Julie and Kyle froze and he watched the trees carefully.

Black came running out of the trees and Austin reacted instantly and he fired a bolt, it pierced through the figures leg, but it was only when the screech came from their mouth, Austin realized it wasn't a creeper.

He raced through the trees and he looked around for the figure he'd shot, but they were gone. Kyle, Julie and Lexi came up behind him and they all looked around in confusion.

"There was definitely someone here," Austin muttered.

"I know I saw them," Kyle said and he scanned the trees.

"Whoever it was, is gone now," Julie pointed out.

"They're not going to make it far with an injury like that," Austin stated.

"There's nothing we can do now, whoever it is, is creeper bait now," Kyle turned away and walked back out onto the dirt road. "C'mon I wanna' see this prison of yours Moon."

...

"ALLY! STOP!" Steven's voice boomed and Dean was standing firmly in her way. She growled up at him, but Dean refused to move away from the truck door.

"MOVE OUT OF MY WAY!" Ally screeched, punching his chest.

"Ally, calm down," Lucas said firmly and she glared daggers at him and Grace looked over Lucas's shoulders.

"You aren't going anywhere," Dean stated.

"You don't understand," She hissed back. "MOVE!"

"You aren't in the right state of mind, go inside and calm down. Wait until Austin gets back," Lucas ordered.

"No!" She snapped. "I'm going to go and find Wayne."

"You don't even know where he is," Dean scolded.

"I don't care. I'll find him," She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ally, sweetheart, come back inside," Harriet stepped towards her and Ally shook her head.

"I need to find him," She whimpered her bottom lip quivering. "He's gotta' be out there somewhere...he's my uncle."

"He's your uncle," Harriet whispered.

"Mary was with him...He told her," Ally whimpered. "Dean, just move."

"I'm sorry, but I can't," Dean replied.

"I WANNA' GO FIND HIM!" Ally shouted and she pushed at Dean's chest. "MOVE!"

Lucas looked back at Grace and she placed an assuring hand on his arm. Lucas nodded his head and stepped forward. He placed his arms carefully around her body, making sure not to touch her baby bump and he picked her up. She began kicking and screaming like a child and he kicked open the door, bringing her into the main room.

Sarah looked over from Kira, who she'd been assigned to watch and she assessed the situation. She moved away from Kira and Lucas put Ally down and she made a run for the door, but he stepped in front of her, pushing her back gently.

"Ally, stop," He demanded.

"Ally, come with me," Sarah pulled on her arm, but Ally pulled it away roughly.

"No!" She spat.

"We'll wait for Austin to come back," Lucas said and Ally scoffed.

"Do you think he's gonna' let me go?" She quizzed. "I'm going."

"Okay, just follow me," Lucas sighed and he walked past her. She raised an eyebrow and followed after him. Ally saw what was about to happen, but her reaction time was to slow. Lucas grabbed the handcuffs which were on the table nearby and he snapped one cuff around her wrist and attached the other to the pipe on the wall. Ally's eyes widened and she began to wiggling her wrists.

"HEY!" She screeched. "LET ME OUT!"

"You're going to wait until Austin gets back, you're not in the right frame of mind," Lucas pointed his finger at her and she batted it away with her free hand.

"Fuck you," She growled.

"I'm just tryin' to protect you Ally, please understand that," He whispered and Sarah appeared at his side.

"Sarah tell him to let me go," Ally said through gritted teeth and when Sarah didn't move Ally glared at her.

"I'm sorry Ally, but Lucas is right, you could be putting your baby at risk going off on your own. You're in shock about what you've found out, just wait until Austin comes back, he'll sort everything out," Sarah explained and she avoided eye contact with her.

Ally slid down the wall and sat on the cold ground, she tugged at the handcuffs once more, but they wouldn't budge, she could already see a red mark forming. She let out a sigh and leaned her head backwards against the wall.

Lucas crouched down in front of her and Ally stared into his eyes. He let out a sigh, knowing there was no way of getting through to her, so he got back up onto his feet and walked away. Sarah stared at her for a few more seconds and then she walked back over to Kira and continued her duty.

A few minutes later after moments of pondering, Ally saw Mary walk out of the cell she'd been in. She was cradling Tom in her arms and she looked over in her direction and she raised an eyebrow at her. She walked over and passed Tom to Sarah and then she slid down the wall next to her.

"What did you do?" Mary asked, with a chuckle.

"I tried to leave the prison, to find Wayne," Ally explained and she angrily pulled against her restraints.

"I told you not to do anything stupid," Mary replied.

"Sorry, it went through one ear and out the other," She retorted.

"So, tell me how is it possible that Wayne's your Uncle?"

"My dad was an orphan, him and his older brother. They were separated at a very young age, my dad was about two years old and then he was adopted. He didn't even know his brother's name, all he knew was that he had one. That's all I knew about him, I just always assumed I'd never have an Uncle and it was fine by me," Ally explained.

"Wow, it really is a small world," Mary sighed.

"Tell me about it," Ally muttered. "What do I do if he's dead?"

"Then we make a grave for him and we do what we always do, hold our heads up high and move on and not let the dead be our weakness," She said and Ally looked at her, blankly.

"Do you think your daddy's still out there?" Ally asked and Mary sighed.

"I'd like to think so, but my daddy was getting old and its starting to get cold now, if he's out in the open everyday and not having a goodnight's sleep, then I don't know probably not. I know it's bad to think that, but when the creepers first came, it was luck that my daddy survived and everyday that went by, it was like a miracle he was still there, me and Sarah prepared ourselves for the worst. He may still be out there, and he may not."

"Wow, you really are strong," Ally mumbled.

"You're too, don't ever forget that. I wouldn't have been able to go through what you did, especially when your mama came out of the barn."

"I still dream about that night, its hard, but like you said, you can't let the dead be our weakness," Ally sighed and Mary grabbed her hand.

"Just wait, if Wayne's still out there, he's gonna' be lookin' for us all, lookin' for you and he won't stop until he knows, we're all safe," Mary assured her and Ally smiled.

"I guess so."

The door flung open and Austin came storming through. His head whipped around to their direction and Ally gulped staring into his fiery eyes. She wished she wasn't handcuffed to the goddamn pipe, because she'd be running a mile right now.

"I'm gonna' go," Mary got to her feet and she gestured for Sarah and Kira to follow her. Austin stepped closer and he towered over her, she shrunk back in fear and she looked away from his eyes.

"What the fuck do you think your playin' at, huh?" He grabbed her free arm roughly and he crouched down, pulling her closer to his face. She stared at him with wide eyes. "You were gonna' break your promise to me!"

"I-I don't know what your talkin' about," She whispered and his grip tightened on her arm.

"You promised me you wouldn't do anything stupid!" He shouted and she jumped.

"I didn't do anything-"

"YOU WERE GONNA' LEAVE!" His voice boomed and she froze, her eyes filling with warm tears. "You were gonna' leave, without me and then what would've happened? You'd go prancing off into the woods, carrying my goddamn child and get yourself fuckin' killed!?"

"Austin..." Ally was lost for words. He was right, she wasn't strong enough, she didn't know what she was thinking, trying to run off on her own. She let her tears fall from her eyes and Austin's grip on her arm loosened at the sight of her tears. His face softened and his hard exterior fell. "I'm sorry," She whimpered.

Austin stared into her big brown eyes and he knew that she was his weakness, normally he'd never back down, but it was Ally and there was nothing he could do about it. Her tears were pulling on his heartstrings, making him feel guilty for shouting, but he was only shouting because he cared about her. He could never forgive himself if she died and he wasn't there to protect her.

He stood up and pulled the tiny keys off the hook. He undid the handcuffs and Ally rubbed at her wrist. Austin pulled her up to her feet and he stared down at her, his eyes still holding the flame they did a few seconds ago.

"There's something you need to see," Austin said and he stepped away from her and walked off. Ally sighed, following after him and they both walked outside.

The first thing Ally saw was Julie holding a baby in her arms. It took her a few more seconds to register who that baby was and a smile grew on her face and then she saw Kyle standing nearby, sharing a man hug with Dean.

Kyle looked over at her and he pushed himself away from Dean and he stepped forward. Ally pushed past Austin and raced over to Kyle, she ran into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Thank you," Kyle whispered in her ear.

"For what?"

"For bringing Lexi to me, on the night of the fire," He replied and he pulled himself away. "Now, let me have a look at you...Your getting fat," He joked and Ally laughed.

"I pregnant, you idiot," She thumped his arm and he chuckled.

"I know, pregnancy looks good on you," He replied, looking her up and down.

"Hey!" Julie snapped from next to him.

"Pregnancy looks good on Ally, but it looked beautiful on you," He corrected and Julie smirked.

"Much better," Julie retorted.

"Can I?" Ally held out her arms towards Lexi and Julie nodded, handing her over to Ally. "Hello," Ally cooed and Lexi chewed on the handle of her rattle. Ally looked between Julie and Kyle, both of them looked happy, but in their eyes she could see the sadness. There was one more person needed to make this family complete and no one knew if he was alive or not.

...

Night had fallen on the prison and Ally lay awake next to Austin. She wasn't tired, she was far from it. Her minded kept floating back to Wayne, George, Lizzy, Frederick, Trish and Gregory. It was like everyone had given up trying to find them. Not knowing where to start looking was the main reason why.

Ally felt like it was her duty to find them, that once she did it everything would be fine again. She stared at Austin's sleeping form, he was lying on his stomach, his left arm resting over her stomach. His face was relaxed and soft, like nothing was wrong with the world. This wasn't the Austin everyone else saw on a day-to-day basis, this was her soft and gentle Austin. The one she slept with every night.

She rolled her head to the other side and looked at Wayne's hat, which was on the desk. Wayne wouldn't have given up like she has, if he's alive out there, he'll be fighting to find them and here she was only thinking about what to do, instead of acting on it. She felt weak and useless, her Uncle and friends were out there, probably looking for them, probably in danger.

Ally bit her lip and she looked back at Austin. One thing was certain, that when Austin wakes up, he's going to be pissed, he going to very very angry, he'd probably never want to speak to her again, but she needed to do this. She kissed him gently on the cheek and then she slipped his arm off her. He stirred slightly, but soon fell silent. Ally stood up and slipped on her boots. She grabbed her rucksack and placed Wayne's hat on her head.

She stared back at Austin and sighed. She was regretting doing this already, but she could see the pain in everyone else's eyes, she wanted to make everyone happy, by bringing back the people they cared about.

"I'm sorry, Austin," She whispered and she walked out of their cell and closed the white sheet behind them. She walked down the metal stairs, watching for the creaky parts. She looked over into one of the cells and saw Jess sleeping on the bottom bunk and Nevil on the top. She walked over and she stared at the small sleeping forms. She stepped inside and she pulled the machete knife from her bag and she placed it next to Nevil. Austin had found it on a supply run and she knew Nevil would want it. She kissed his forehead and then she crouched down and kiss Jess.

"Goodbye," She whispered and she stayed there for a few more seconds, before turning around on her heel. She had one more stop to make and she saw Derek's sleeping form on the bottom bunk and Billy's on the top. She stepped in and she reached up and nudged him slightly. Billy stirred and his sleepy eyes opened and then closed again. Ally smiled and then she kissed his forehead.

"Bye Billy," She stepped away and she walked out of the cell and she made her way through the main room and grabbed the keys off the hook and made her way out of the door.

The night air hit her body and she stared over at the guard tower, there wasn't a candle light coming from it, which meant no one was on guard at the moment. She walked past the stands and out of the open gate and onto the courtyard. She made her way down the dirt path and through the other gate. She stared up at the guard tower, she looked around for the hook and pulled the key off it. She unlocked the front gate, making sure there were no creepers around. She turned around and walked over to the truck. She got inside and put her rucksack on the passenger's seat.

The sound of the trucks engine ignited the night air and she drove slowly out of the gate. She stopped the truck and got out, pulling the gate closed behind her and locking it, then she pushed the key through the hole in the gate and returned to the truck. She glanced back at the prison through the mirror.

She was doing this for her people. She's doing this so they could go to sleep happy. She was doing this so they didn't have to grieve anymore.

But, only if Ally knew that what she was doing, was going to land her in serious trouble.

AN: Sorry about the delay, I've had a hectic week. So, things are starting to take off now and Ally's gonna be in some serious trouble *evil laugh* and Austin isn't going to be happy when he wakes up...Anyway, thoughts on this chapter, Wayne's Ally's Uncle, I hope none of you saw that coming, if you did then you my friend are a genius :)

Thanks for the reviews and I hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter, :)
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