"Can we not just sleep all day?" I asked as Daryl's lips pressed against my shoulder blade.
"Wish. Gotta check on Merle, make sure ain't nobody tryin' to kill him." Daryl mumbled, and I giggled as he crawled over me, standing from the bed.
"He's a big boy." I gave Daryl a teasing grin, and he snorted, smirking.
"Better put some clothes on, girl." His voice was gruff, but I could hear the tease laced in his tone. Leaning off of the bed, I reached down and grabbed my shirt. Hitting his stomach gently with my shirt, I wrinkled my nose before standing from the bed. Gathering up my clothes, I dressed quickly, turning to see Daryl sitting back down on the bed. His eyes were on mine, just watching me intently.
"Goin' to check on Merle, my ass." I muttered, earning a chuckle. "I'm actually goin' to check on everyone else, okay?"
"Go on, I'll find ya later." Daryl said quietly. "Don't go out alone."
"I won't." I turned back toward him before leaving the cell. "I'm not afraid."
"Of what?" He asked, watching me pull down the blanket from the door.
"Lovin' you." I gave him one last look, before walking away from him. I could feel his eyes watching me go. As I exited the cell, I nearly ran smack into Carol. "Whoa.." I took a step back.
"Sorry! Uh, Daryl in there?" She asked, her eyes tired.
"Yea." I looked back at the cell, then at her. "You good?"
"I'm okay." She replied, and I nodded.
"Okay, then. Good." I said softly, stepping around her. I walked over to the stairs, bounding down them quickly. I found Maggie sitting in a cell alone, and I stepped inside, sitting down on the floor in front of her. "Hey."
"Hey, you." Maggie looked up, trying to offer a tiny smile.
"I'm real, real sorry." I shook my head, resting my chin on my knees.
"Why?" Maggie asked, her eyes questioning.
"I... 'Cause I know what Merle did...but I'm glad he's here 'cause that means Daryl's here..." I looked up at her face. "I feel like shit about it, too."
"Don't." Maggie scooted off of the bed and onto the floor with me. "You've been through a whole lot with Daryl. Even more than me and Glenn. You've known them since the beginnin' of things. Can't ask you to be okay with him leavin'. I understand. I don't like it, but I understand."
"Thank you." I whispered, feeling a little better.
"By the way, you two make up or what?" Maggie asked, her face curious.
"We did." I felt a little smile creep across my face.
"Must have been some serious makin' up, considerin' how hard you're blushin' right now." Maggie giggled, and I laughed.
"It was somethin' serious... He told me he loved me." I raised an eyebrow.
"What? That is quite serious, then. Huh? How about that." She tilted her head. "Dixon sayin' "I love you" to someone..."
"Crazy, right?" I looked up at the ceiling. "Let's go outside?"
"Take watch for a little bit. I need some air anyway." Maggie agreed, and we stood, leaving the cell. Once outside, we sat across from Carl, sheltered by the fence and a pallet. Carl was scanning the area with binoculars, while Maggie and I just watched the area around us.
"Psst!" Carl caught our attention. "Somethin' weird out there." Maggie grabbed her gun, looking through the scope. I noticed her expression change dramatically, and she looked at me, then back at Carl.
"Andrea? Get your dad and the others!" Maggie instructed, as we watched her make her way closer to the prison.
"It's really her..." I whispered, thinking back to all the times I had hoped we'd find her. Rick, Daryl, Merle, and the others came running out, guns drawn. No tellin' why she's here... She's with Woodbury... Andrea made her way closer and closer to the prison, still... Nothing had blown up yet. Rick and the others ran across the exercise yard.
"Are you alone?" Rick called to her.
"Open the gates!" She called back, her voice lined with slight panic.
"ARE YOU ALONE?" Rick yelled, his back against the fence, watching around him.
"RICK!" Andrea was becoming frantic, walkers all around her. He threw the keys to Daryl, who opened the gate. Andrea ran through, only to have Rick right in her face.
"Hands up! Turn around!" Rick growled, and Andrea didn't have time to say anything. "TURN AROUND, NOW!" Rick grabbed her, slamming her against the fence. I left the post, running over to the guys. A walker came up to the fence, causing Andrea to scream. Rick grabbed her, pulling her from the fence and basically throwing her to the ground. "Get down!" She was on her knees in front of us, hands in the air. "On the floor... I asked if you were alone."
"I am." Andrea whispered, breathing heavily, as Rick grabbed her shoulder bag roughly, snatching it off of her. He tossed it to the side.
"Welcome back." Rick said, patting her arm, then grabbing it. "Get up." She followed Rick without a word. We walked back to the prison, Rick leading the way. Inside, Andrea looked around, her eyes caught between fear, sadness, curiosity... So many emotions were flooding through everyone, it was hard to read the feelings drifting around the room.
Carol appeared, and Andrea walked down the steps toward her. They hugged for a few moments, before Carol spoke. "After you saved me, we thought you were dead."
"Hershel, oh, my God.." Andrea looked at his leg. "I can't believe this... Where's Shane?" Rick shook his head. Andrea looked around. "Cheyenne? And Lori?" No one said anything.
"She had a girl. Lori didn't survive." Hershel explained, and Andrea looked at Rick with sad eyes.
"Neither did T-Dog." Maggie added, and Andrea looked as if she might cry.
"I'm so sorry... Carl." She looked at the boy, who just stood still, watching her. She turned back toward the sheriff. "Rick, I didn't..." Andrea trailed off, as Rick stepped back. "You all live here?"
"Here and the cell block." Glenn replied.
"There." Andrea pointed toward the block. "Well, can I go in?" She started forward, but Rick cut her off.
"I won't allow that." He said surely.
"I'm not an enemy, Rick." Andrea tried.
"We had that field, courtyard, until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up." Rick argued.
"He said you fired first.." Andrea was mind warped and I could tell.
"Well, he's lyin'." Officer Friendly corrected.
"You should have left with us." Shay said, her face lined with anger.
"He killed an inmate who survived in here." Hershel spoke up, catching Andrea's attention.
"And we liked him, he was one of us." Daryl said, and I walked over to sit beside him.
"I didn't know anything about that." Andrea shook her head, her face showing her emotions at war. "As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot out." She had turned, looking at Glenn and Maggie.
"That was days ago." Glenn mumbled.
"I told you, I came as soon as I could." Andrea looked at us, before turning toward Michonne. "What have you told them?"
"Nothing." Michonne stood by the cage, her hands entwined through the fence.
"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people, an-and now I'm the odd man out?" She was getting angry.
"He almost killed Michonne, and he would've killed us!" Glenn was trying to make her see.
"With his finger on the trigger!" Andrea pointed at Merle. "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?" She sighed, putting both hands to her face. "Look... I cannot excuse or explain what Phillip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."
"There's nothin' to work out." Rick growled, mad. "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when..but we will."
"We can settle this." Andrea tried again. "There is room at Woodbury for-for all of you."
"You know better an' that." Merle chuckled.
"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel asked, and I looked at Daryl. He looked back at me, his hand sliding over mine. He knew I hated this. "Did he say that?"
"No." Andrea admitted, and I looked at the floor.
"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked, looking at her.
"Because he's gearing up for war... The people are terrified, they see you as killers. They're training to attack." She was trying to convince Rick.
"I'll tell you what." Daryl spoke up, and she looked at us. "Next time ya see Phillip, you tell him Imma take his other eye."
"We've taken too much shit for too long." Glenn agreed. "He wants a war, he's got one."
"We ain't gonna lose, neither." I said, and she glanced at me, before turning back to Rick.
"Rick... If you don't sit down and try to work this out... I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town." Andrea turned towards us. "Look at you...you've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."
"You wanna make this right?" Rick asked, walking to stand in front of her. "Get us inside."
"No." Andrea shook her head.
"Then we got nothin' to talk about." Rick walked away.
"There are innocent people!" Andrea argued. No one said anything, and Michonne walked over to her with Shay, nodding for her to follow. Andrea walked outside with them, and I looked at Daryl.
"Can't let her go back... Can we?" I asked, and Daryl let go of my hand.
"Her choice." He mumbled, standing up and walking toward Merle. Sighing, I stood, making sure my gun was secure in the small of my back. Snug in my jeans. Leaving the room, I opened the door to the outside. Daryl was watching me go, and when Merle muttered something, Daryl punched his arm.
Closing the door behind me, I walked out into the sunlight. Everything was quiet and I knew the Governor wasn't coming again. Not right now, anyway. Not with Andrea here. Trudging over to the post Maggie and I had been at, I curled my fingers around the chain fence, watching the area surrounding the prison. Walkers were stumbling about, and I felt my blood boil. Phillip...you gotta go.
"Spencer?" Andrea's voice was heavy with emotion, and I turned to face her. "What... What happened?"
"After the farm?" I questioned, and she nodded. "Moved around, you know. From neighborhood to neighborhood. I kept hopin' we'd find you and Shay holed up somewhere, but I thought y'all were dead... Dead or far gone.. Chy was messed up.. She..she knew we were in big trouble."
"She was a smart kid." Andrea gave me a light smile.
"We were holed up in this house. Just a random house... Woke up to Maggie wakin' everyone up, walkers were comin'.. They were all around the house. Carl and Lori were behind me a ways. Chy saw a walker gettin' too close to Carl...she tried to warn him and got away from me. Took off to save her friend." I looked down at the ground. "Walker got her. Daryl got it off of her and I thought she was okay.. I thought she was okay, but when we stopped, everyone got out the cars to regroup... She wasn't there. I found her in the car still, and she jumped out cryin', liftin' her shirt. And I saw it, clear as day. Bite right on her side."
"God..." Andrea looked out at the field.
"Yea... Got the fever, she died in some house we stayed in. She accepted what was gonna happen, just didn't wanna turn.. Daryl and I... I couldn't pull the trigger alone.." I tried to fight the tears threatening to spill.
"I'm so sorry." She stepped toward me and grabbed me in a hug. I hugged her back, happy to have her in front of me.
"Thought you were dead.." I whispered, squeezing her tight. We held onto each other for a moment, before letting go. I stepped back, wiping a tear away that fell. "I was there... When Lori died. Maggie and I were stuck down in the tombs with her and Carl."
"Carl was there when she..?" Andrea looked horrified.
"Wouldn't let us try and get her back to Hershel. Call it Mama's intuition, she just knew the baby was ready then and there... Carl shot her after she...died." I shook my head. "It's been hell."
"I-I can't imagine... The baby?" She asked, her eyes sad.
"Judith.. Her name wasn't given 'til later, though. Daryl resorted in callin' her little ass kicker." I laughed, and Andrea joined me with a light laugh of her own.
"Little ass kicker, huh?" She asked, her face still lined with sadness.
"Yepp, perfect name... You can stay here. You know that, right?" I kicked the ground. "You're one of us."
"I... Rick might disagree. Plus, the people at Woodbury have no idea what they're in for. I'm trying to save lives... I don't know what to do."
"Do any of us?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not anymore, I guess. Not in this shitty world... So, how are you and Daryl? I saw him holding your hand." Andrea teased, and I grinned.
"We're good.. He's a good man." I replied, and she squeezed my shoulder as we started back to the prison's door.
"He is that."
Andrea went to see the baby, and I sat on the bed. I knew the cold hard truth was that Andrea wouldn't be staying here with us. She was going to leave. Leave and go back to that psycho path. I wasn't sure I could ever understand why she would want to leave us and go back there... But I figured she must have grown some sort of attachments to Phillip and the people there. I just wished she knew what we knew. Wished she would believe Michonne. I think maybe she did, but she just didn't want it to be true.
"She's about to leave." Daryl walked into the cell, his hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. "Figured we'd better go say goodbye."
"Hate goodbyes." I mumbled, as we walked.
"Maybe she'll come to her senses, turn that car 'round and come back." Daryl snorted at his own thought.
"She ain't gonna... He's gonna wind up killin' her." I whispered. "It'll happen if she don't get outta there."
Daryl shook his head as he opened the door for me to walk back outside. We walked across the exercise yard, out toward the big gated doors, where we kept vehicles. The guys were opening the big doors, and I watched as a vehicle appeared, Glenn driving. Glenn slowed to a stop once he cleared the doors. I looked up at Andrea, who was walking toward the car. Glenn stepped out, leaving the door open.
"Can you spare it?" She asked, her face showing she could make it without the car if she had to.
"Yeah." Rick nodded. Andrea looked around at all of us, and Daryl gave her a slight nod.
"Well, take care.." She got inside the vehicle, and shut the door.
"Andrea.." Rick stepped toward the car, handing her a clip and a gun. "Be careful." I had never been more proud of Rick in that moment. I knew he still cared, even through the really tough shit.
"You, too." I heard her say, before cranking up the car. Stepping forward, I followed Daryl into the yard, as Merle ran ahead. Watching Andrea's car move forward was hard for me. I felt like I was never going to see her again and it hurt. The break lights lit up as she stopped, Merle opening the gate.
"GO!" Merle yelled, and her car began driving down the gravel dirt road. Watching her drive away took a chunk of my spirit, and I thought I was beyond that feeling. I never would get used to people leaving, even if it was someone who was... No, she's Andrea... She'll never be an enemy..
I'm seriously NOT ready for what's to come... I hate the end of this season soooo bad. I know I'm gonna be crying my eyes out while writing the last chapters because I gotta rewatch those SAD ASS episodes. Damn... I am happy that Daryl and Spencer are made up and are all good to go because all the drama that's coming up... They're gonna need each other a hella lot...
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~Kaila