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"You got a minute?" Daryl asked as he saw Abraham leave the house heading towards Sasha on the wall before the sun had even come up.

"Does a horse have an ass?"

"Depends on what ya talkin' 'bout," Ani said. "I mean, the place they shite out a or the donkey friends they sometimes make?" Both Daryl and Abraham just stared at her before she turned a little pink and smiled, "Sorry."

"Sometimes a screw goes missin' with you, don't it?"

"Says the man who let the keys ta 'is military vehicle and had ta wait ta dig through the shite."

"At least I didn't set a barn on fire like some pyromaniac."

"At least I didn' lose all my clothes in a game a poka and have ta walk back ta the barracks in the buff!"

"Hey!" Daryl said, getting the two of them to stop their bickering, though Ani could tell he was amused. "We need you to do somethin' for us."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"They took Eugene, right?" Ani asked. "Where?"

"What do you mean, 'where?' They took 'im to the Sanctuary just like they did the two of you."

"Ya know, I knew ya were an idiot, but I didn' think ya were a moron. Where'd they take 'im ta make bullets?"

"Not too far from the tracks. We can get there by sundown," Abraham answered. "I know the ins and outs. We go in, light it up, get out. Won't take more than a day."

"Jus' make sure ya do recon first," Ani told him. "We don' know what measures they've taken ta keep the man safe. Eugene is now the most important person ta the Saviors otha than Negan 'imself. Might be keepin' 'im unda lock and key."

"Go in, take a look, see what we can see," Daryl suggested, Abraham nodding in agreement before saying he'd go over and tell Sasha. "You gonna be okay?" he asked Ani.

"Got ta be," she replied. "Ya goin' ta be gone all night with how late it is. Be careful and make sure ya ain' seen."

"You're stayin' here, in the walls. Stick with Phia and the twins."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," she said. "Ya know, I ain' a damsel in distress."

"Uh-huh. You keep tellin' yourself that, baby girl," Daryl said smugly. "I'll be back before sundown."

"Ya betta be," she told him, standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. "I love ya."

"Love you too," he told her, smacking her hip. "Take it easy," he said before heading to the car Abraham was already pulling up to the gate, quickly turning around and shouting, "And take a damn nap!"

"Yes, daddy," she teased.

She walked over to the gate and climbed up to the lookout post to watch the guys head out and disappear down the bend in the road and into the trees. The nerves had started to get the best of her as she stared at the empty road until she decided that she couldn't just wait for the men to get back. The sun was starting to peak over the trees before she left her post and walked over to the herb garden to help with the pruning to try to distract her. It was the first time since they'd gotten out of the Sanctuary that they had been so far away from each other, especially after what had happened in the sewers. Ani knew it was an absolutely necessary part of their healing process, but it didn't help her nerves any more than trying to concentrate on the herbs did. Giving up and walking into the house, she grabbed both the pistols she had taken to carrying, her machete, her buck knife, and one of the sleaves of throwing knives. She walked over to the rack for clothes and pulled her bag off of it, making sure it was properly prepared for going out and about. She walked back outside of the house and looked around until she found Sasha standing next to Eduardo and Kal discussing defensive protocols. Ani joined them and double checked that they had everything under control and set up until the two men went on their way and she could have a moment to talk to Sasha alone.

"Go grab ya gear," Ani told her.

"What?"

"Ya, me, and Phia; we're goin' out."

"Oh, no. I'm not dealing with both Daryl and Merle going off on me for letting you go out."

"I ain' sittin' 'round with my thumb up my ass. Phia told me how ta get ta the apartment Simon took 'er to and had hidden away, right?"

"You want to go raid it?" Sasha said, realizing Ani's train of thought.

"If ya don' want ta go, I'll take Phia with me," she replied, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I mean, ya the best shot 'ere, Merle took off ta gods know where, and Rick and Michonne went out ta scavenge what they can. The one place we know could have somethin' we could use would be that apartment."

"We don't even know if he's left anything."

"Don' matta. I'm goin'. Are ya goin' ta go with me or not?"

Sasha took a deep breath and shook her head slowly before letting it out in a huff, "You're as stubborn as Maggie."

"I know. But ya goin' ta go with me anyway."

"Like you said, you're gonna go whether or not I go. At least this way I can keep an eye on you."

"Yup!" Ani said joyfully, popping the 'p' at the end. "I'll go get Phia. Meet me in 'bout ten minutes."

"Are you gonna tell Maggie?"

"Nah, that's ya job," she laughed, Sasha rolling her eyes at the woman before heading down the ladder.

Ani looked out at the empty road and took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, especially since she hadn't seen Merle since she'd gotten up the middle of the night and saw him heading towards the gate. She thought that he was simply going to stand watch as she took a few deep breaths of the night air to cool her head after a particularly bad nightmare, not thinking anything more of it. She knew that the guys would be pissed for her going out, but she hoped that they would be able to bring back some stuff that would help them out and Merle and Daryl would forgive her. She was still going to get chewed out by the two of them, but there just had to be something in that apartment that would make it okay. Sophia was being weird and she wanted to take the girl out to talk to her without anyone else interrupting, but she didn't want it to be just them. They didn't exactly have a lot of bullets to spare, but the apartment was supposedly in the opposite direction of the Sanctuary, just outside the city limits, closer to the Kingdom than anywhere else, at least according to Sophia. She'd also said that there were at least some medical supplies that they could grab and that would be a godsend after how much they'd used in the last few days. Between the wounded from the Saviors, the injured and fresh amputees from the walkers, and how often some of the wounds needed to be redressed, they were going through medical supplies at an alarming rate. Even if that was all they managed to bring back, Ani would be able to convince Daryl that the trip was worth it.

She walked over to the herbal garden to find Carl, Sophia no where in sight when the two had been damn near inseparable since they'd gotten to the Hilltop, and sharply asked"Where is she?"

The boy at least had the humility to look sheepish before answering, "She went out."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

Ani looked at the boy, who was clearly trying to hide something, the look on her face darkening as she watched him squirm in front of her. Something was wrong with how much he was fidgeting around and looking down rather than at her. She warned him that if she walked into the house and didn't find her, she would be coming back to him and he would be in a lot of trouble. Going into the house and straight to Sophia's room, she found it empty, the girl's bow and quiver missing along with her knives. Ani started cussing up a storm as she went to hers and Daryl's room and grabbed her knives and gun, her bag, and her canteen before angrily going back downstairs. Sasha was standing there with Maggie and Beth, telling them what they were getting ready to do and that they'd be back before night fell. Beth tried offering to go instead of Ani, but one look from the older woman had the younger stopping the question halfway through. They could all tell that she was pissed off about something and didn't even stop her when she blew past them without a word and walked outside. Carl, for his part, at least had the courtesy to look like he knew he was in trouble as she stormed up to him and put her hands on her hips, staring at him straight in the eye; she hated being the shortest adult and now she was even shorter than Carl.

"Where did she go, Carl?" she asked in a rather harsh tone.

"After Henry," the boy sighed. "She didn't want me to tell anyone."

"After Henry? Wh...Carol. She's doin' it 'cause a Carol, ain' she?"

"Yeah."

Ani sighed and grabbed a handful of hair by her forehead before saying, "I should a fuckin' known she'd do somethin' like that. Damn it all ta hell!" she yelled. "She gets back, I'm tearin' 'er a new one!"

"Everything alright?" Sasha asked as she walked up.

"Peachy-fuckin'-keen. Let's go. It's not quite inta DC, jus' on the outskirts past the train station. Big buildin', 'bout four stories tall made a brick."

"Isn't she going with us?"

"Nah, she jus' had ta go out on 'er own little mission," Ani growled out. "And dingus 'ere didn' tell anyone even though 'e knew she was goin' out!"

"Dingus?"

"A nice way a sayin' ya a fuckin' idiot, Carl," she clarified. "Ya should a told me as soon as ya knew she left."

"She asked me not to."

"And ya decided not ta jus' 'cause she asked? What if she asked ya ta keep quiet 'bout bein' sick or if she'd been injured? Would ya keep it ta yaself?"

"Well, no."

"Then why the hell did ya think it was a good idea not ta tell me she left the Hilltop?" Ani asked, the boy looking sheepish all over again. "What, exactly, did she say?"

Carl looked down before he finally sighed and slumped his shoulders, "She said she was going after Henry because she was angry and her mom. Said something about it being the last thing she did for her. I don't know what she meant by that."

"I think I do," Ani said, a soft smile on her face before it turned hard again. "If she comes back 'fore I get back, ya tell 'er she's ta stay in 'er room or with Maggie 'til I get back so I can talk ta 'er."

"I'm sorry," he told her.

"Don' be. Ya a kid. Kids make stupid mistakes. Jus' learn from it, and if eitha a ya keep up with this shite when we're in the middle a a damn war, I'm goin' ta start treatin' ya like I did at the prison and put ya back in boot camp!"

Carl's face paled at the reminder of how tough she'd been on the kids back when they'd made the mistake of playing in the tombs back at the prison. It was hard to believe that it was already nearing the end of summer and that the prison had fallen only four months or so ago. Then again, it was just as hard to believe that it had barely been a few weeks since Glenn had died and the war had begun. It had barely been six weeks since the horde had broken through the wall in Alexandria and he'd lost his eye. They had all been dealing with the results of how fast events had started to unfold after the prison had fallen. Ani couldn't believe how fast the kids had been forced to grow up afterwards and was very proud of the two of them for how mature they were both being. Sure, they both had some issues they were dealing with as kids, the two of them trying to navigate their budding relationship while dealing with a jealous Enid on top of Sophia and Carol's fight, but they were both very emotionally mature for their ages. Two fourteen year olds should have been thinking about high school, friends, sports, games, anything and everything except how to survive in a world where everything and anything was trying to kill them. Whatever Sophia was trying to do by finding Henry, she was making a decision far above her age and, while Ani wasn't thrilled she'd just left, she was still proud of the girl.

"Come on, Sash. Soona we get there, soona we get back, and soona I can pretend I didn' go anywhere."

"Do you honestly think that's gonna work?"

"I don' know what ya talkin' 'bout," Ani said, though the tone of her voice and the look on her face made it obvious she knew just how wrong she was. "Ya want ta drive?"

"Sure, but I'm not taking the fall for you when Daryl and Merle get back."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," she said with a wave of her hand, heading to one of the cars that hadn't been shot all to hell, the twins climbing in before she did.

Sasha got in and started up the car, heading towards the gate while they waited for the gate to be opened. It didn't take them too long to find the first sign that Sophia had told them, or rather the last, which was the first for them. Within thirty minutes, they had made it to the right area, but what Sophia had failed to mention was that there were at least four buildings that could be the one they were looking for. Ani cussed under her breath again and looked over at Sasha and tried to ignore the look on the woman's face that practically screamed that it was supposed to be an easy run. It was her turn to look like she'd messed up when she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders at the woman and started heading towards the closest brick building. It ended up being a blessing in surprise when they found a hidden stash of canned goods in the laundry shoot of one of the buildings, left in a basket tied to a pulley system. They were even able to find a few items for the babies, too, as one of the apartments had a nursery in it, complete with a crib. Ani and Sasha worked to find a larger truck they could load it into, taking the thing partially apart to that they could lay it flat and have room for the mattress. They took as many of the items they could from the room, including all the baby clothes that were in the closet and dresser as well as all the diapers and formula. Honestly, Ani found that they got extremely lucky going through all of the apartment buildings, several of which had rooms that were obviously for toddlers and the like. They didn't end up finding Simon's apartment until they checked the third building, finding a heavily locked door on the second floor.

"Guess this is it," Ani commented, bending down and pulling out a couple bobby pins and started picking the numerous locks. "Where're the twins?"

"They went chasing an opossum after we got into the building. They might bring it back."

"Nah, I didn' give the command ta hunt for us. They're goin' ta be huntin' it ta eat it."

"Do you think we're gonna find anything useful in there?" Sasha asked her.

"Not sure. But it's betta ta see if there is than if we left it. Also, I want ta see what I can get out a the place 'bout Simon. I don' trust 'e's jus' doin' this 'cause 'e feels guilty. I jus' don'."

"So you want to see if there's anything that you can find out about him."

"The things ya can find out 'bout someone by lookin' 'round their house," she responded. "Phia didn' get a bad feelin' 'bout 'im, I didn' eitha when we were at the Sanctuary. Still, felt kind a fake, kind a like 'e was tryin' too hard. Booyah!" Ani cheered when she got the last lock undone. "Cova me?"

"You got it."

Sasha had her rifle at the ready while Ani pulled out her pistol and one of her knives before slowly opening the door a crack before swinging it open with a bang. Nothing came out and the entire apartment was quiet as they slowly entered it and looked around. It was cleaner than Ani had expected it to be as she and Sasha shared a look of surprise about how tidy it was. There was a complete furniture set that had different afghan's draped on the backs, bookshelves of both books, knick knacks, and pictures on the shelves, and the walls had even more pictures and decorations adorning them. From how free of dust it was, it almost seemed like someone lived there all the time, but the air smelled of must to show just how abandoned the place really was. It soured her stomach with how strong the smell was and she immediately went over to a window to open it and air the room out. Ani ended up just sticking her head out the window to try and let her stomach settle as she took deep breaths and Sasha looked around. The fresh air didn't help at all, though, as she emptied what little there was in her stomach onto the ground bellow before she simply heaved a few more times.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I jus'...that smell is strong. Phia didn' mention it smelled so bad."

"I don't really smell anything. The air's a bit stale, but it's not strong."

"Ya got ta be kiddin' me!" Ani complained. "It smells like the old clothes in my grandma's closet!"

"I don't know what to tell you. Must be that pregnancy nose thing Maggie has going on. That woman can smell apples from a mile away it seems."

"Everythin' smells. Some betta than othas," Ani commented, coming back into the house and walking around. "Simon really does love 'is family. He's not even in half a these pictures. They're all a 'is sista and niece. Look at this one," she said, holding up a picture.

It was of a woman and a man with a baby in the mother's arms and a young boy sitting on his father's lap. There were pictures from his sister's wedding, where the parents were missing, but a much younger looking Simon was smiling away at the camera, though there was also one, obviously taken candidly, where the man was smiling proudly, not just happily, with tears streaming down his cheeks. More and more pictures told the story of a man who was just trying to give his family the best that he could and fill their lives with happiness. There were very few pictures where there weren't smiling faces and there wasn't a single moment that didn't involve the sister and niece. The few that weren't clearly showed somber occasions; memorials where little girl and mother or uncle were bowing their heads in remembrance or placing flowers on graves. Simon had clearly been a family man before the world went to hell, which honestly confused Ani more with how he was destroying families now. Even if he had lost his family, it shouldn't have driven him to the point of killing kids, unless losing his family had driven him insane. If that was the case, she could understand why he was starting to feel remorse and guilt over what he had done with how he had been there for his sister. Ani wasn't sure if the remorse or guilt was because of the fact that he'd been a direct reason for many kids to die or the fact that he realized how closely Maggie's situation was to what his own sister had been through.

"He don' make a lot a sense, bein' honest," she mused. "There's so much 'bout 'is life in 'ere that it's pretty damn clear that 'e really loved 'is family."

"There's not much here," Sasha told her as she came back into the room. "Found a few bottles of pain pills, some antibiotics, some more bandages. There's some canned goods in the kitchen, but not a lot. Looks like he was using this place as some kind of back-up in case he couldn't stay at the Sanctuary."

"Looks like it's more a a temple or memorial for 'is family. He really did care 'bout 'em. Don' know what ta think 'bout 'im or whetha or not 'e's goin' ta be a pain in the ass at a lata date, but I don' think 'e's lyin' when 'e says 'e wants ta help 'cause me and Mags remind 'im a them."

"Yeah, it's obvious he cared about them. Come on, we should get back. We've been gone a long time already."

"Alright. I think...I think 'e's tellin' the truth. I think..." Ani started, picking up the teddy bear sitting next to a picture that had the same one. "All these keepsakes. So much love for 'is family. Ya know how ya went off the deep end afta Bob and Tyreese?"

"Yeah."

"I'm startin' ta think that's what happened ta Simon. Difference is, ya had good people helpin' ya make ya choices and keepin' ya in line. Simon had the Saviors. Don' make what 'e's done right, but it does make sense as ta why 'e's comin' 'round now. Don' 'xactly know what brought 'im back, but somethin' did."

"So, what? You think we can trust him?"

"I think it might be worth takin' a chance."

~x~

"The hell'd you go?!" Merle shouted as soon as Ani got out of the car. "You shoulda fuckin' waited 'til I got back! What the fuck were you thinkin', huh? Were ya even usin' that brain of yours?" he asked, poking the side of her head a couple times before she slapped his arm away.

"I could ask ya the same! Sneakin' off like that!"

"You ain't supposed to leave the walls!"

"You ain't s'pposed ta disappear! I didn' go off in the middle a the fuckin' night!"

"I ain't the one carryin' a kid!"

"I ain't the one missin' a hand!"

"Bitch, you really think a misisn' hand and carryin' a kid is the same damn thing?!"

"'Course it's not, but I can protect myself jus' as well as ya! Maybe even betta since I can use both hands ta hold weapons! And I took someone with me! Can ya say the same?!"

Ani and Merle stared each other down as they both remained angry at the other, Ani for Merle just leaving like he did and Merle for Ani leaving in general. Sasha, the traitor, ran for the house as soon she saw him storming up to them and left Ani alone with the angry redneck. To be fair, the older woman had told her she wouldn't help her when it came to Merle or Daryl when they got back, but she was had hoped she'd at least stick around for moral support! Instead, she was standing, staring up into the man's eyes with just as angry a look on her face as he had on his. Neither was willing to back down when both of them had been worried about the other just being gone. Even if Carl and Maggie both had told Merle that Ani had gone on a run with Sasha, even if he knew it was to Simon's apartment, she should have waited until he got back so he could go with her. Ani had absolutely no clue where he had gone and the fact that he'd snuck out in the middle of the night had made it even worse. While she knew she really didn't have much of a say in what he did, especially since he was a grown ass man and she was just his little sister-in-law. But with Daryl gone, seeing the man just casually sitting on the picnic table when she pulled up through the gates brought up a wave of both anger and anxiety she hadn't realized she had felt at his disappearance. It couldn't keep up though, as they both started hearing snickers around them and started staring down the others until they were the only ones in the area.

"You were told to stay here, dammit!" Merle shouted at her again.

"And ya disappeared without tellin' anyone! Did ya see the shite we brought in?! What were ya doin' that was so fuckin' important ya had ta sneak out in the middle a the damn night?! Daryl's gone ta get Eugene and ya jus' disappeared! What was I s'pposed ta do?! Sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs?! I knew where we could get somethin' at least and went and got it! I wanted ta take Phia with me, too, so if anythin' happened, at least she'd be there, but she fuckin' disappeared! I had ta do somethin' ta keep myself calm! What the hell was I s'pposed ta do, Merle? What?!"

"You were supposed to stay here! That's what you were supposed to do! You've been told to take it easy-"

"Take it easy this! Take it easy that! I am takin' it easy! What the hell fuckin' part a that can' ya and Daryl get?! I didn' even do any heavy liftin'! I walked 'round and gatha'd some stuff up! Sash did all the heavy liftin' for me! I took it easy! I'm sick a bein' told ta 'take it easy!' Ya want me ta take it easy? Ya and Daryl can fuckin' take it easy, too! Ya want ta keep tellin' me my limits? I'll fuckin' tell ya what ta do, too! I ain' fuckin' sittin' back and actin' like I can' do shite for myself jus' 'cause everyone and their cousin wants ta tell me ta take it fuckin' easy! I'm sick a it!"

"You've got a damn bun in the over, kid! You got shit all you gotta do but worry 'bout that damn baby!"

"And I'm sick a ya usin' the pregnancy as an excuse for tryin' ta tell me what ta do and when ta do it and when I've had e-fuckin'-nough!" Ani shouted, everyone probably hearing her yelling by then while her body started shaking in anger. "Both ya and Daryl! Constantly actin' like I can' take care a myself! Like I can' do shite! I went on a run with Sasha, Merle! I didn' disappear in the dead a night! I didn' keep it a secret! I even had Sasha tell Maggie where I went! I didn' jus' take off! I had a fuckin' plan, ya stupid fuckin' bastard!" she screamed, panting as much as she was shaking now. "You're an asshole, Merle, and I'm so happy you know what I'm s'pposed ta do. I'm so thankful that I'm such a fragile fuckin' doll afta everythin' I've been through and done I can' even take a piss by myself. I'm so thrilled that ya know exactly what I fuckin' need. So fuckin' glad the great Dixon brothers can't tell their fuckin' heads from their asses! Now, if ya don' mind, I best go and do what I was told and take a fuckin' nap 'fore I get bitched at for not doin' that, too!"

Ani stormed away, doing everything she could not to turn around and throw a punch, pissed all over again at the fact that, first Daryl, and now Merle, kept trying to tell her what she could and couldn't do and where she could or couldn't go. It didn't make any sense for the man to be so pissed off when she'd done everything she could to make sure her whereabouts were known. She knew she was going to get a bit of flack for going out without either of them, but to be outright yelled at like she was a little kid right out of the gate was ridiculous. Ani didn't even bother hiding the fact that she was angry as she stomped her way up to hers and Daryl's room and threw her boots off. It was difficult to get comfortable on the bed, but she really was tired after all the walking around and carting things to and froe, up and down the stairs. While it took her a while to get comfortable, she did end up falling into a deep sleep until Merle was pounding at the door telling her she'd been asleep most of the day. She told him he could come into the room while getting her boots back on and reiterated how she was starting to feel. It was getting more and more difficult for her to hear everyone talk about her pregnancy and she had just wanted to feel like she was a person again, not just an incubator. She didn't mind it so much when it was Daryl scrutinizing her and telling her what to do seeing as he was the dad and her husband. But Merle was an entirely different story and she was being stifled by the brothers constantly being overbearing. Merle had the decency to tell her that he'd left to hunt the Saviors, not wanting the trail to get cold, especially since they'd already lost an entire day. Morgan had caught up to him while he was still on the trail after being held up by a decent sized herd and they'd both been taken hostage for a little while. In the end, though, they'd killed them all and left their bodies to the walkers before they came back to the Hilltop, stating that they would have come back at some point.

"Ya did what ya had ta do," she told him when they got to the door. "But so did I. And 'cause a that, we got a crib, we got a bunch a baby clothes, some food, which'll help keeps us goin' for a couple more days. I ain' goin' ta apologize for it. I'm sick a ya and Daryl both actin' like Lou is a tool ta get me ta do what ya want me ta. I'm sick a bein' treated like a liddle kid or some porcelain doll."

"Could've run into the damn Saviors! You were as fuckin' stupid goin' out there as you were stayin' in the room with the Governor!"

"Oh my gods!" she shouted in exasperation. "Are ya goin' ta hold that against me foreva? Rick wasn' in any state ta be dealin' with a psycho like 'im! 'Sides, that was months ago! I wasn' even pregnant back then!" Ani did her best to calm down, pinching the bridge of her nose so that she didn't get worked up all over again and keep the fight going. "Merle, I took a calculated risk. The apartment was in the opposite direction of the Sanctuary. With how the war is goin', all hands should be on deck back at the Sanctuary, not out scoutin' in the opposite direction."

"You should've waited 'til I got back."

"How was I s'pposed ta know when that would be? If ya'd a been 'ere, I totally would a asked ya ta go with me, too. I jus' couldn'...I couldn' wait 'round and worry my ass off 'bout the two a ya, alright? I didn' want ta. So I did somethin' useful. I ain' goin' ta apologize for it, eitha, since it got me a crib. Gracie won' need 'ers by the time Maggie gives birth, so she's already got one. Got clothes for the babies, too, and Gracie. Some for Judy. We needed that stuff, too. Some food."

"You think it was worth bein' stupid?"

"Ya think goin' afta those Saviors was worth bein' stupid?" she shout right back, both of them folding their arms over their chests and staring at each other again. "Ya want me ta be smart and wait for ya ta go with me, stay where the fuck ya s'pposed ta be, too! Ya can' have ya pie and eat it too. I told D the same damn thing 'bout when 'e starts wantin' me ta stay home when I look like a whale. Ya guys want me ta do shite, start doin' it yaself. Othawise, I ain' goin' ta play nice."

"The fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"Means the next time ya treat me like a kid afta doin' worse and stupider shite than I do, I'm goin' ta do like I did on that first run and knock ya on ya ass!"