Newly Revised
"Why don't you come on out?" Daryl said as Ani stormed past him.
From the minute she'd pulled him away until now, Ani hadn't said a word and had barely even looked at him. After he had tried to get to Carol and been convinced to go back to the church, she hadn't so much as even touched him. He'd seen her bloodied nose and limp and felt so guilty, trying to check on her only for her to pull her head away and walk away from him completely. When they found a vehicle to drive back in, Noah had sat in the front seat and instead of her and told them about Beth and how they had met and what she had done to save him. She had remained unresponsive even as Daryl began to ask the boy some questions to clarify a few of the things he had said. When they'd stopped, she had once again declined his touch or help even though she was in obvious pain, and had started limping away from him and refusing to let him stop her. Noah had become silent as he watched the two, Daryl continuously trying to help Ani only to be brushed off or simply told she had it. The boy could tell that there had been something between the two and whatever reason had made the man fight so hard against them was also the reason the younger woman was so full of rage.
Daryl didn't know what was going on with her, but Ani couldn't understand how he didn't know why she was so upset. He hadn't even bothered to look for her, ran with the men trying to rape her and hadn't even tried for her, yet he'd run through an entire night to try to get to Beth. Then he wanted her to talk it out with Carol, forgive her for wanting to kill her as if it were nothing, as if she hadn't acted on those thoughts with two other people. Then had fought against her to get the woman back hard enough to where she bled. Ani felt like such a fool for believing that she would be the one who won out over anyone else in his eyes, except maybe Merle. She could have understood if it was Merle he was acting like that about, but Carol? Everything about the situation made her hate herself for believing that Daryl would always be there for her, that she was worthy of someone actually loving her. Obviously she had deluded herself into thinking everything was fine with the few gentle touches Daryl had give her; he cared more about Carol being taken than he had about her being gone. She was defeated in every way that mattered when it came to what she thought she meant to Daryl because what she had thought obviously hadn't been the truth. The only thing she felt she could do was to help him get his favored woman back, get Beth back to Maggie and then disappear thereby setting Daryl free to be happy with Carol.
"Ani?" Rick asked, kneeling in front of her. "You comin' with us or stayin' here?"
"She's stayin'," Daryl said angrily, not wanting her to go if she wasn't going to let him help her.
Ani inhaled sharply and practically spat, "The hell I am!"
"Dammit, Ania!" he replied, all but dragging her out of the door and down the steps a little ways from the church. "What the fuck is goin' on with you?"
"It doesn' fuckin' matta," Ani huffed, turning her back on Daryl, heading back towards the church. "Let's jus' go get Carol, since she's the one ya actually care 'bout."
"Don't fuckin' say that," Daryl told her, grabbing her by the bicep and forcing her to turn back to him.
"Well, what the fuck else am I s'pposed ta think, Daryl?! Ya didn' even fuckin' try for me! Didn' even care ta! But Carol gets taken and I get a fat lip and a bloody nose for it?!" she seethed as she tore her arm out of his grasp. "And ya want me to put wata unda the bridge 'bout 'er wantin' ta kill me, but ya were ready ta kill Noah jus' 'cause 'e threw a walka my way! What the fuck am I s'pposed ta think 'bout how ya feel 'bout me anymore when ya hurt me ta get ta her? Hurt me ta defend her? What the hell am I s'ppsed ta think?" she scoffed with a sad but determined expression when she looked down and folded her arms over herself. "Called it from the get-go, though. Don' worry, once we get Carol and Beth back, ya won' have ta deal with me anymore. I'm goin' ta-"
"Don't fuckin' finish that sentence. Don't you fuckin' dare," Daryl told her harshly, becoming just as angry as she was now.
"Nah, I jus' get ta keep watchin' ya care 'bout othas more'n the one that's s'pposed ta be ya wife, right?" she said before turning around to once again try to head back to the church.
"For fuck's sake," he said in exasperation as he grabbed her again. "You're my girl, my wife. That ain't changin'. I ain't leavin' you and I ain't lettin' you leave, neither. I don't know what you think's goin' on right now, but it ain't. Only thing goin' on is you not talkin' to me."
"Ya already left me, Daryl," she told him, stepping back out of his shocked and loosened grip. "The minute ya gave up on me, ya left me. Yet ya didn' once decide ta give up on them. I don' know what ta think or what ta feel. Ya tryin' for otha women more'n ya tried for me and it hurts. It hurts like hell and I don' know how ta deal with it. It hurts knowin' I mean so little ya weren' even willin' ta have hope, weren' even willin' ta look, but ya willin' ta risk it all for Carol."
"Ain't like that, Ania."
"Yeah," she said, walking away from him and throwing over her shoulder, "It is."
"How do we get Beth and Carol back?" Tyreese asked as she entered the church, the others having been brought up to speed about Noah and trying to ignore the hunters' fight.
"Well, they all know Ani," Noah told him. "She could probably walk in with you guys and just demand them back. A lot of the officers would side with her if she did."
"Which ones?" Ani asked.
"Licari, Lamson, Shepard, August, Bridge, McGinley, and Franco were excited to hear that you were still alive."
"Really, now? That's actually really fuckin' good!" Ani said excitedly, trying to ignore Daryl's presence behind her even as he pressed his chest to her back and held her hips. "Saved Shepard's life when she was partnered with Bridge. Ya rememba the guy I told ya I gave pot brownies ta?" she asked Daryl, receiving a nod. "That was August. Franco and Licari liked the buckeyes I'd make every year for Yul. What about Gorman, Jefferies, and O'Donnell? Or Lerner and Hanson? Any a 'em still there?"
"Not Hanson. He was in charge before Dawn took over. The rest, I think so."
"They done anythin' ta ya? Or Beth?" Ani asked, her voice starting to drop viciously, as she studied the older teen and the bruises on his face.
Noah looked at her in shock as he watched her face change into something truly frightening before stuttering, "Uh...they...they...uh..."
"They gave ya the bruises, didn' they? Bruised Beth up, too?"
"Yeah."
"Done anythin' else ta anyone there?"
"Not all of them. There are some good ones."
"But Lerner ain' controllin' Gorman, Jefferies, or O'Donnell, is she?"
"No, ma'am."
"They touch Beth?"
"Gorman, he, uh, he...he likes Beth," Noah stuttered, suddenly feeling very nervous around the short girl with the darkest expression he'd ever seen on her face.
"'E's a dead man walkin'. So's Lerner."
"Ania, you don't-"
"Bullshite, Daryl! Ya don' know Gorman and ya don' know what 'e's done!" Ani shouted, pulling away from him, not even wanting to feel his touch after everything that had happened. "I couldn' get 'im kicked from the force, but I was tryin'. More'n once I had ta talk ta a woman 'e'd arrested or given a ticket ta 'cause 'e'd proposition 'em. Give 'im a blowjob and 'e'd let 'em go. Let 'im bang 'er and 'e'd give 'er a warnin'. That man was sick long 'fore the world went ta hell and if 'e's anywhere near Beth—I can' let 'im live! And Lerner! Lerner will do anythin', anythin', ta save 'er own damn face and pride, and that includes lettin' Gorman get away with shite 'e shouldn'. Anythin' ta get and keep powa! And she's a prick like Shane was when it comes ta people like me. Used ta force versies inta givin' bullshite confessions jus' ta meet 'er quota or get a higha rank. I ain' lettin' eitha a 'em off the fuckin' hook for what they're doin'!"
"Then I can-"
"Ya can get Carol and get out," she spat at him, Michonne and Rick noticing the hostility in the air between them.
"I already told you-"
"Yeah, yeah. 'Ain' like that.' I heard ya the first time," she shot back.
"Beth was right when she said she'd signed Dawn's death warrant," Noah mumbled as he watched the exchange and saw the woman's ever darkening face, everyone in the room looking over to him rather than pay attention to the couple.
"Beth's a smart girl," Ani agreed, turning her back on Daryl once again. "She's playin' the long game, psychological warfare that'll push the odds in our favor. Lerner won't have half 'er officas if I still got the fava a the othas."
"You do," Noah assured her.
"Alright. Might not even got ta go through the trouble a doin' anythin', then. Could prolly jus' go there now and march right up ta the front door, demand our people back and be done with it."
"No, that's too risky," Rick said. "We need to get the church boarded up before we go anyway. I'm not takin' Judith into the city."
"Good point. Not takin' the twins, eitha. Carl, I need ya ta look afta 'em while I'm gone. Keep 'em in the church. Feed 'em some more a that tuna," Ani said, looking at the kittens who were roughhousing on the floor. "Didn' mean ta take 'em the first time."
"I wanna go too," Carl argued.
"No, I need you here, with Judith," Rick told the teen who relented, though was quite grumpy about it.
"And I need ya ta look afta the twins, like I jus' said," Ani enforced.
"You need to rest up. Stay off them legs as much as possible," Daryl told Ani while making her sit back down, only for her to pull away from him and move to the entrance.
"What happened to your legs?" Sasha asked.
"Nothin' much," Ani said, brushing it off.
"Fell off a damn bridge in a van. Braced herself usin' 'er legs. Bruised and sore to hell. Prolly got a couple fractures along the bone," Daryl elaborated, giving Ani a look she adamantly ignored for trying to downplay her injuries. "Her knee's all swollen, ankles too. You can see her face."
"Yeah, that don't look too pretty," Rick commented, half the girl's face covered in a deep purple bruise.
"Ain' nothin' I ain' fuckin' had 'fore," she shot out. "Hell, ain' even the worst fuckin' condition I've been in and pushed through. This ain' shite."
"Just stay fuckin' put and rest," Daryl demanded before walking away to help with the preparations.
Ani had managed to talk to Sasha a little bit while the woman was worked on wrapping her legs and knees using the drapes from the church. Surprisingly enough, Ani wasn't worried about the woman just yet since Sasha had passed the denial stage of grief and jumped right into the second phase, anger. Once the anger dissipated, Ani was pretty sure she'd jump right into the final stage of grief and accept what had happened, and while she would still hurt, she would move on. Unlike many in the group, Sasha was actually pretty well rounded when it came to her personality and mental fortitude. While her anger was quite the righteous fury, she was directing and dealing with it as properly as she could given what was happening. She wouldn't need any extra help like Rick had, which was a good thing, because all the help Ani had given Rick had been thrown out the window when Carl was attacked.
She was keenly aware of Daryl's eyes on her and she was trying to vehemently trying to ignore his worried face watching her every move. She was sitting in one of the few pews that were left petting the kittens while everyone else worked on fortifying the church. Ani was trying to come to terms with everything concerning her and Daryl but the more she thought about the situation, the more her brain started hurting. He told her she was his girl, but his actions said otherwise and she just couldn't wrap her head around the difference and consolidate them into one logical purpose. If he was trying to hurt her, he had done a damn good job at making sure it hurt just to breathe. If he was trying to help her, how was telling her everything he'd done or not supposed to make her feel better let alone how he was acting when it came to Carol and Beth? She'd meant it when she'd told him he'd already left her once because he'd given up on her, given up on them. Ani had fought tooth and nail, been shot at, been hunted, been chased, just to get him back, just to get back to him, and he'd sat on his ass staring in a fire. She hadn't even given up after the cabin, for fuck's sake; she'd needed a little bit to get a hold of herself finding it burnt, but she still kept looking for him! It felt so wrong, so very wrong, to see him trying so hard for the others when he had simply given up on finding her before he ever even started to try.
Daryl knew that he had messed up big time after their little spat in front of the church, he just hadn't realized what he was doing was hurting her. It was still off behavior for her, though; she wasn't a jealous person like she was being right now and had never had an issue with his friendship with Carol. Yet he couldn't say that if the roles were reversed, if he had watched her fight for another guy he wouldn't feel like shit like Ani was. Hell, he'd already gotten a little irate over her few moments of interaction she'd had with Abraham. He hadn't realized that what he had felt for just those uncommon digs at the redhead was the same as what she felt about how he was acting towards Carol. That was another thing he should have realized; Sophia's mother or not, Ani might have been able to tolerate her existence, but he pushed her to try to get over it. At the time, he knew it had been selfish but he thought he had been doing it for her, so that she could understand Carol's point of view better and heal. Now he realized he'd been doing it for himself so that he didn't have to lose either friend or lover, but Ani should have come first. Her emotions about everything, her moods he should have read, the looks in her eyes that he should have known. While it had been a knee-jerk reaction to get to her after seeing Carol being taken right in front of him, Daryl wouldn't have let anyone hold him back if it had been Ani. That didn't help one bit, though, because the damage had already been done to his wife when she had already been in a vulnerable state to begin with.
The church was completely boarded up and everyone was sitting around for a last meal before they headed back to the city. Michonne had attempted to get the priest to come out but the man never answered, making them assume he'd fallen asleep and leave him alone. Daryl walked over with some food and sat next to Ani, reaching down to grab her legs and bring them into his lap after handing her a plate. He didn't let her pull away as he began to check them once again, thankful once more that she hadn't been injured worse than she was. He felt another ping of guilt when she put the plate he'd given her down without touching the food after telling him she was hungry; he knew she was too upset to eat. Michonne and Rick worked on barricading the door by jamming the remaining pews in front of it and sitting on them, Tyreese joining them as Merle stood talking to Sasha at the front. The tension hung thick in the air at the potential to get Beth back as well as the threat doing so entailed. Everyone kept giving the pair of hunters glances as well as they tried to figure out what could have happened that had Ani not even wanting Daryl around. Daryl tried to think of a way to get her to listen to him before remembering that he still had her dagger in his bag and grabbed it out, handing it to her when he let her legs down again and hoping it would help bridge the gap he had created between them.
"Belongs to you," he said as he handed it to her. "Should've given it back sooner."
"Ain' like it matta's none," she told him, her normally fluctuating voice dead and flat.
"It does."
"Nah, it don'. It really don'."
"It's how I knew you were alive," Daryl told her, finally getting her to look at him, a mix of shock and horror on her face as he took the chance to pick her up and make her sit in his lap. "Said somethin' 'bout a wild child and I thought it was you. Thought I could find you if I stuck with 'em. Get ahead of 'em, track you down and hightail it outta there. Turned my back on a guy gettin' beat to death, just holdin' it and hopin' I'd get you back," he told her while rubbing her thigh and looking down. "Meant to go out lookin' when they started talkin' 'bout a woman and some kids they were chasin' 'cause some asshole killed a guy from their group. Thought maybe it was someone from ours. Thought you might be with 'em," he told her quietly, the others giving them as much space as they could considering there was only one room. "When you weren't...Thought you might be headin' to Terminus if you saw the signs. I was ready to throw punches when they said we had to go after. It's happened every damn time you're missin'. Shane didn't want to look at the quarry. Always some excuse not to go out at the farm. Leavin' you behind to clean up after us again. I hate it."
"Daryl...," Ani started before she sighed. "It don' matta. Ya don' got ta try ta make me feel betta, alright? Let's jus' do what we got ta and get 'em back, alright?" she asked, moving to stand up, Daryl's arm pulling her right back into his lap and chest.
"Not until you hear me, dammit," he growled, needing her to know she had nothing to worry about. "Carol don't mean nothin' to me the way you do. I know it didn't look like it, but she don't," Daryl told her, bringing her head closer to say even quieter. "And I sure as hell wasn't starin' at her ass when we had to get through that damn gap. Sure as hell ain't her I wanna have a baby with. You ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout, baby girl."
"Then why?" she whispered as fresh tears started welling in her eyes. "Why fight ta get 'er? Why make me talk ta her or try ta undastand 'er? Why tell me it's 'nough when I tell 'er I'd kill 'er if she came at me again, yet let 'er stick 'round ya when she admitted ta bein' okay with killin' me? I don' undastand how ya can do that. If she don' mean more, why try ta force it? Why do ya care so much 'bout 'er ta the point ya don' care if ya hurtin' me or it lookin' like ya leavin' me for 'er?"
"Didn't think you'd take it that way," Daryl admitted. "Just didn't want you sayin' somethin' you'd regret with her bein' Phia's mom and all."
"And fightin' me ta get ta her?" Ani asked, not believing Daryl for one minute that that was why he'd told her to stop with Carol.
"I wasn't tryin' to hurt you. Just didn't want to lose anyone else."
"Defendin' 'er?"
"It's like I said. Didn't want you sayin' somethin' you'd regret. Thought you'd get over it like you have everythin' else."
"I can' this one, Daryl. I jus' can'. Not when I see 'er as a threat now. Ta me, ta Phia, ta us. I feel like she's goin' ta put a wedge in us. And I know...I know ya don' see it that way, but I also don' know why the fuck ya'd be fine bein' 'round or at least keepin' me around someone who wanted me dead. And I know ya don' see it like that 'cause a what ya been through. But I've always, always, had ta view someone who wanted me dead as an enemy. If I didn', I'd be dead already."
"I know, baby girl. I was just tryin'...Hell, I don't know what I was tryin'," he sighed, running a hand over his face. "Just don't want to lose you 'cause of somethin' that ain't happenin'."
"I don' want ta lose ya at all," Ani told him, finally wrapping herself around him as his arms tightened around her and he pressed his cheek into her hair. "I'm so scared a losin' ya."
"You ain't."
"Feels like it."
"You ain't."
"Promise me ya'll pull back with Carol, then," she replied against his neck, feeling how he stiffened at the same time as the voices started taunting her again. "I ain' askin' ya not ta be 'er friend or be distant or anythin' like that. Jus'...jus' don' let me think ya care about 'er more'n me. I can' deal with that. Not afta everythin'. Not afta the prison. Not afta the city. I jus' can'."
Daryl sighed deeply, knowing she needed the reassurance but not knowing how to keep a promise like that when she'd already read too far into the situation. They had been together for so long, been through a lot of people trying to gain each others attentions and yet she was still afraid of losing him to someone else. It wasn't even the first time she'd been afraid of Carol trying to break them up, either; back at the farm and once over the winter she had expressed concern. He hadn't thought about that when he tried to force the issue, bringing an even different perspective into view. She hadn't openly been saying anything about it when he had started forming a bond with the older woman, but now that he thought about it, she also hadn't said anything. She'd never got in their way of forming a bond, but she also was never fully comfortable with it either. Ani had only talked to the woman if it had to do with Sophia or needing something in the prison, but she never really asked how Carol was doing after a while. She hadn't asked him to stop being around Carol up until now, but she also had been quiet when he and Carol were chatting and she was either sitting on him, laying or leaning on him, or he was leaning against her. Even now she wasn't asking him to not be around or friends with Carol, just to make sure both women were steadfast in their places. He needed to make sure Carol knew she was just a friend and nothing more, no matter how things seemed to be or what she wanted. He was Ani's husband, through and through, and nothing short of death was going to change that. Daryl knew he also needed to make sure Ani knew how sorry he was, for everything, and that she knew he only wanted her.
Nodding his head, Daryl told her, "Alright. Nothin's changed 'bout how I feel 'bout you. Nothin'. So stop-"
"Rick! Michonne! Please! Let me in! I had to see it! I had to see! Please! Let me in! Rick! Michonne! Please!" Gabriel's voice rang from outside, cutting off Daryl's words as they all turned towards the door.
"Dammit," Rick said as he quickly got to his feet, he and Tyreese moving the pews from the door.
"Man pried a hole through the floor!" Sasha exclaimed as she opened his office.
Daryl picked Ani up amid her protests as Michonne handed Judith to Carl, "You're goin' in that office and stayin' there 'til we deal with it!"
"I can help!"
"No, Ania! You gotta rest your damn legs and we're already goin' back to the city," he told her, Noah hobbling in on Tyreese's insistence. "Keep the kids safe and stay on the damn couch!"
"Don' ya dare shut that fuckin' door then, Daryl!"
He looked at her as he was about to do just that and yelled at her, "Just stay there!"
Leaving the door open, he ran back out of the office just as Rick opened the doors and pulled Gabriel through them, a small horde of walkers following him in. Daryl shot one through the head with his crossbow before letting the thing fall to his side as he drew out his knife. Along with Rick and Michonne, they took out walker after walker while Tyreese and Sasha shot at the intruding force from the side. Ani was leaning as far as she could to see what was happening and when it became clear they needed help, she told Carl and Gabriel, who'd joined them, to stay put and protect Judith while pulling Noah with her, handing him her machete as she drew a dagger and a throwing knife, launching it into the eye of a walker coming close to Rick's side before drawing her other dagger.
"I told you to stay back!" Daryl roared at her when she came to fight beside him.
"Ya need the damn help!"
"Dammit, Ania!"
They kept pouring into the church, only slowed by the fact that only four or five could squeeze through the door at once, though the constant influx meant that they were regularly dealing with twice if not triple that. Ani could feel her right ankle straining and so took a defensive stance that allowed her to take some of the weight off of it, but made her left, and weaker, hand her main attacking hand. If they were fighting the living, this wouldn't have worked at all, but thankfully the dead weren't cunning enough to pick up on the subtle differences of switching to the opposite of what came natural. She was just about to tell Carl and the preacher to get out the tunnel the preacher had made when the sound of a vehicle came roaring over the groans of the dead only to smash right into the majority of the walkers coming up the front steps, taking down the rest of the walkers. Of course, that smashed the steps too, but at least the dead were gone. It didn't take very long for them to deal with the rest of the walkers in the church before Abraham was backing up to clear the door and Merle called out with a damn laugh that made Daryl want to punch his face in.
"Well I'll be, seems like that's twice now I've showed up in the nick of time to save your ass," he chuckled.
"Give me a hand here," Daryl told him, hopping off the destroyed entrance and turning around to offer Ani help.
"He only has the one ta give," she casually stated, making Abraham start guffawing like crazy and walk up to the woman to offer a hand down as she had bulked at her husband's.
"I don't bite," he reasoned when Ani bulked at taking his offered help.
"She just don't like bein' touched," Merle said, coming to her rescue and offering his hand along with Abraham's, both of them noticing her reluctance to accept Daryl's help of all people. "If you can mock him for bein' Red, ya can take his damn help, girly."
"Ain't too thrilled havin' a Gremlin for a leader, but here I am awaitin' orders, ma'am," Abraham told her, causing Rosita to scoff as the small woman was helped out of the church, the kittens mewling at Daryl's feet.
"So, we're just going to do whatever she says now?" she asked Abraham.
"I can do exactly two things," he reasoned. "I can kill and I can follow orders. Now, Eugene may be a monkey's ass walkin' 'round with a donkey's face but the one thing he was right about is that he is smarter than me. If she's smarter than him, well, I'll be a monkey's uncle if she can't get us further than that walking pile of stinking shit."
"Plannin' on goin' ta Richmond afta we go ta Atlanta," Ani informed them nonchalantly. "And be nice ta Eugene. He's a dumbass and a liar, but 'e don' need the constant name callin'."
"Why are we going to Atlanta?" Glenn asked.
"Got ta go ta Grady Memorial ta get Beth and Carol back," she said.
"Wait, Beth?" Maggie asked as Ani leaned against the fire truck. "Beth's alive?"
"Yup. Goin' ta get 'er back by the end a the day now that y'all are here. Jus' need ta get a few things in orda first."
"Like what?" Tara asked as Maggie began breaking down, telling Glenn she'd thought Beth was dead. "If we know where her sister is, can't we just go get her?"
"Ain' that easy. Holed up in a hospital with patients and a lot a cops. A lot a cops I know, though. A lot a good cops lead by one really, really bad cop. Need ta get a cop or two outside a the hospital, let 'em know what's goin' on, get 'em on our side. Then we can walk inta the hospital in full force now that y'all are here. Nah violence, nah bloodshed. Leave the church behind and head out on the road right from Grady."
"Or we could just storm in the front," Rick countered.
"That's sure to get someone killed," Tyreese pointed out.
"Then we do it quiet. Go in through a side door, take out the cops one by one at their post."
"What do ya mean, 'take out the cops?'" Ani asked.
"Slit their throats."
"Nah! Hell nah! Rick, these are good cops! Cops I've worked with for at least six years! Ya want ta kill one, kill Jefferies or Gorman or O'Donnell. Ya leave Lerner ta me, though. She and I, this has been a long time comin'. But ya ain' goin' ta kill the rest jus' 'cause ya revved up from Terminus and those Claimer bastards," she spat, Daryl standing behind her looking down in guilt once more.
"Oh? What'd she do to you?" Tara asked.
"Jus' not a friend a versies is all," Ani offered.
"Versie?" Tara asked.
"Me and Eugene," Ani clarified. "It's why we're smarta than ya, or part a it. And why 'e could get away with seemin' like a scientist. Our brains are wired a bit differently than ya's, makes us hold things different. Emotions take the back burna ta things like learnin' and retainin' information, though that's jus' a part a it. A really small part. And not even always true 'cross the board. Jus' for some versies, like me and Eugene."
"You keep saying 'versie' like it's supposed to mean something," Rosita complained.
"Neurodiverse, ADHD/ADD, autism, some mood disordas, anythin' that ain' within' the typical when it comes ta intellectual and cognitive functionin'. Like I said, our brains work different, retain information different, learn different, act different. Our reactions aren' those expected by othas and when we're geared up in a high emotional state, we don' always have control a our reactions or think our actions through. Case in point; Eugene lyin' 'bout DC."
"How'd you know about that?" Abraham asked. "Said you knew from the get."
"Well, anyone with half a brain cell would a been able ta figya it out. I mean, it's in the damn name a the supposed research lab. Human Genome Project. It was literally the study a the human genome, the DNA strand. Ain' got nothin' ta do with pathogenic microorganisms. Not ta mention, that shite's dealt with at the CDC! I mean, I get why wannabe Chuck Norris and Sofia Vergara's little sister 'ere didn' know that, but come on, Glenn, Rick, the two a ya were at the CDC with me! How didn' ya know 'e was talkin' out 'is ass?"
"Wannabe Chuck Norris," Merle chuckled before looking at Abraham and howling. "Shit, yeah, I see it!"
"Am I allowed to come down now? Or is my face still in jeopardy of resembling, and I quote, 'more like a jackass than I already do'?" a disembodied, shaky voice called out from the top of the fire truck.
"The hell? Eugene?" Ani asked, looking up towards the top of the thing from her stoop.
Peeking down from the top with what could only be described as a look between terror and nausea, Eugene looked like he was on the verge of tears when he told her, "Yes, ma'am. And you were right. He did not take kindly to the tale that I told. I was a coward. If it weren't for you and your people, I would be dead and would not be allowed to come back here."
"Oh, now, I don' believe that. Even as much as ya screwed up, ya still got plenty a smarts we can use," Ani said. "Don' worry, ya can come down. Jus' give good ol' Honest Abe a girth, alright?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, now that we're all here, we should get goin', right? Nah point leavin' anyone here when we can' guard the church nah more. Ya a damn idiot, Gabriel. We could a taken ya ta that school."
"I know," he said looking at her before looking away. "I had to see it for myself. I had to know what was out there, what they'd done."
"Ya know," she said, sitting down next to him on the bumper of the truck as the others hauled things out of the church. "I ain' one ta have faith. Neva have been. Not in ya god anyway. Neva liked the thought a havin' ta love and believe ta get a reward. Hell, neva liked bein' dragged ta my momma's church and bein' praised and told that god blessed me only ta go home ta a hell hole."
"All children think their homes are hell," Gabriel commented, thinking she was being dramatic.
"Yeah, I know. At some point, that's jus' the norm. But are these?" she asked, turning to lift her shirt just a little to show some of the scars on her side, back, and stomach. "Damn near all the scars I got is from family; the rest happened either by my hand or in the afta times. Was forced ta kill ta defend myself at twelve 'cause they drugged me and tried sellin' me off. My momma was a devout Christian lady, my daddy was wantin' ta go inta politics and was loved by all. Prayin' ta ya god neva did me any good. Started prayin' ta the Fae, the Celts, the Nords, anythin' and everythin' but monotheistic gods," she told him looking off into space as she spoke, not realizing that she was no longer just talking to Gabriel, but Abraham and Eugene had stopped working to listen too. "Didn' stop believin' in ya god, don' get me wrong. He jus' wasn' the right fit. Think it's 'cause a my eyes."
"What?"
"Ya know, the whole bit in the Old Testament where god talks 'bout how left handed people and those with eye issues and a few otha things won' be goin' ta heaven anyway?"
"That's not what that meant."
"Nothin' in the bible's 'what it means,'" she countered. "Anyway, 'fore I got off track, I wanted ta tell ya, it's okay ta have doubts in ya faith. If it's strong 'nough, ya'll find ya way back ta ya god. If it ain', ya'll find a new path like I did. There ain' nah one right way ta live in this world gone ta shite in a hand basket. But that don' mean there ain' nah place for faith. Or forgiveness. So forgive yaself for what happened 'fore and learn how ta live on and make it right. Ya a preacha, a shepherd ta a flock that needs protectin', right? So learn how ta protect ya flock by learnin' how ta protect yaself."
"I don't know if I can."
"Ya don' have a choice," she said as Sophia walked up with the kittens. "Not anymore."
Sophia handed her the things with a hiss, "Why don't they scratch and bite at you?"
"There's a trick ta it. Grab 'em by the scruff," Ani told her, demonstrating how to hold the kittens so that they would instinctively freeze as all canine and feline cubs, pups, kits, and kittens did. "Similar ta swaddlin' a baby, the effect. They do this 'cause they know they're bein' moved, movin' like this could get them hurt. As they get olda, though, ya'll have ta hold 'em round the neck like this," she told her, demonstrating how to hold the neck of the kitten without cutting off the airway and maintaining the scruff to keep the kitten immobile.
"You sure know a lot about cats, Tiny," Abraham commented while Daryl jumped out of the church and noticed the little powwow around his wife.
"Loved the Discovery, National Geographic, and Animal Planet channels. 'Specially documentaries 'bout predators. Did ya know that the world's greatest feline hunta is the black footed cat with an average a 60% success rates on kills?" she asked excitedly. "And the damn thing is smalla than the average house cat! Weighs in less than five pounds for the males! And African huntin' dogs are the apex predator with an 85% success rate on hunts! Not even humans have that kind a ratin' on average! Less than 50% a the time we go huntin' for big game do we actually get it!"
"Seriously, do you ever stop with the random facts?" Glenn asked as he walked up and handed her the throwing knife she'd used earlier.
"When they don' come up," she said with a shrug. "Anyways, how long 'til we vamoose out a here?"
"Just loadin' up the last of the gear," Daryl said as he walked up and offered her a hand up. "You're ankle alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good," she said, hesitantly taking his hand to stand up, though he purposely pulled a little to hard to cause to to go a bit off balance and fall into him.
"You sure?" he asked with a smirk.
With a snort, she told him, "If I didn' have a redneck pullin' me inta his chest, yeah, I'd be sure."
"If I decide to carry you?" he growled in her ear, picking her up and taking her to the truck while she watched him.
"Then don' eva put me down," she said. "If ya goin' ta carry me, don' eva put me down."
"Sure thing," he replied, setting her down and kissing her gently.
~x~
Beth was mopping the halls slowly early the next morning when she went to check on Carol; she'd been here one night already and they hadn't even given her any medicine. While she didn't appear to be in any immediate danger according to Edwards, Beth knew what it meant when a patient didn't pull through. Whether it was one day or one hour in which it got called, Carol was laying on a precarious precipice of being cut off from getting any help, if not being killed outright for 'wasting resources.' Edwards walked in while Beth was watching Carol which caused her to give him a dirty look before she walked away from him. She was still angry at the man for using her to kill Trevitt, especially when his actions were the direct cause of Noah getting hurt. In some ways, it was also the reason she had been beat so badly herself after she'd helped the other teen escape. Beth hated everything about this place and felt sorry for all the wards that were trapped here just like she was. All the officers she'd seen aside from Shepard treated the wards like slaves and the ones that stayed in the hospital, the ones that never went on patrols if they weren't forced to, were the worst. That fact was proven just a short way down the hall when she turned a corner and saw Jefferies bullying Davis, the oldest ward in the hospital and honestly the oldest person in the hospital period.
"What part of fix the hole in my uniform do you not understand?!" Jefferies yelled before he pushed the man down.
"Hey!" Beth said, running up and helping Davis back up. "He's just an old man! How can you be so rough?!"
"Oh? And what're you gonna do about it?" Jefferies said, leaning in close to her.
The steely glare Beth gave him when she spoke next had even Dawn shocked when she walked in and witnessed the conversation, "I'll put you down if I have to. Don't think I won't."
"Beth," Dawn called out, realizing either Jefferies was about to be killed or Beth. "I need you to come with me. Now."
Once they got into her office, Dawn turned on Beth, "Who the hell do you think you are to threaten one of my officers?"
"Someone who won't let an old man be beaten just because he forgot to fix a hole in a shirt! You won't do anythin' about it! Somebody's gotta! I might as well while I can!"
"And what do you mean by that?"
"Just as I said."
"The patient in exam room two. You think just because one person shows up, Titania Parker's not that far behind?"
"I think by the end of the day, we'll be out of here. Just you wait."
"Well, while you wait, clean my office," Dawn told her before going to change out of her uniform and come back in to work out.
Beth was doing as she was told when Edwards walked in and informed them that the woman had woken up. She'd sustained a major contusion to the shoulder prior to being hit by the cruiser as well as a mild concussion and a bit of internal bruising. It didn't appear that she was bleeding internally as her stomach was not distended nor was it bruising more than he would expect for a hard impact. Given time to rest and recuperate, the woman would make a full recovery in time and up and about in a few days to strart contributing. Dawn excused Beth from the office as Edwards continued his report about his rounds, Beth hurried towards Carol's room and Dawn asked him more questions.
"Carol?" she asked as she entered, seeing the woman sitting up in the bed looking around wearily.
"Beth? Oh! Beth! We were lookin' for you!"
"I know," Beth told her before quietly saying, "Listen, if they ask you anythin', you don't know what Ani has planned. And call her Tea. These people used to work with her. Some of them are on our side, but not the people in charge."
"They know Ani?"
"Shh," Beth said as she heard the door being opened and Dawn and Edwards entered.
"I see you do know this woman," Dawn said. "And who exactly is she? A part of your group, no doubt."
"I'm Carol," the woman said quietly, not even having to pretend to sound weak as her entire body was hurting from the collision.
"And you're a part of Beth's group?"
"Ye-yes," she said before choking a bit, Beth bringing her some water to sip.
"What is your role? How many are there?"
"I'm...I'm like the mother hen," Carol said, thinking about what role she had taken at the prison. "Tea is considers my daughter her sister."
"Dammit!" Dawn yelled before storming out of the room, leaving Edwards to double check Carol's vitals.
"It's amazing how you pulled through on your own," he commented, looking at Beth.
"It's a damn miracle," Beth agreed, knowing she'd stolen the key from Dawn to give Carol an Epinephrine drip late at night; she'd overheard Edwards tell Dawn she needed it only to be refused to give it, the look in the man's eyes at the moment practically screaming he'd said it so she'd hear it.
"Dawn, this is Shepard, we heard shots fired. Permission to investigate," she heard Dawn's radio go off as she left the room.
"Permission granted, take Lamsen with you. Licari, follow as back-up," she radioed in.
"Roger that," three voices came back through.
"Tea's comin' for us," Beth said, startling the woman who turned around to see her ward standing there with a smug look before she walked away, calling over her shoulder in a cocky voice, "Just you wait."
~x~
"Alright, Noah, I need ya ta fire inta the air. Ya goin' ta be alone at first, and ya goin' ta have ta make sure ya lead 'em behind this buildin' here," Ani said, kneeling down in the dust of the parking garage she had decided was far enough away from Grady to lure some cops out but close enough to carry out a tactical assault should they need to. "If we can do that, we can come up on 'em on both sides. For sure, we'll be able ta outnumba 'em right off the bat. Hell, even with Eugene and Gabriel sittin' pretty with Tara, Tyreese, and the kids in the truck, we got 'em out numba'd three ta one when they corna Noah. Dependin' on who gets called out, we go from there. If I say shoot, ya shoot. They ain' worth savin' if I say shoot. If I tell ya ta hold or they call out my old name, ya hold."
"And what exactly is your old name?" Rosita asked.
"Tea. Or Titania. Or Parker," she responded, happy she'd left the cats in the truck with the others; Tara was more than happy to keep an eye on them. "Name was Titania Parker, now it's Ania Dixon, preferably Ani."
"Unless it's Daryl," Glenn clarified.
"Oh?" Abraham commented with a smirk. "Now that I think about it, he seems to be awfully fond of callin' you 'baby girl'."
"Shut it," Daryl told the man, giving him a dirty look in the process, Merle barely able to hide his chuckles.
"And how do you know these cops?" Rosita asked snootily.
"Oh, ya missed the part where I used ta work with the Atlanta PD. Forensic psychologist, rememba? Helped some a the cops Noah says are there with their cases. Anotha I saved, and that's a big deal ta cops."
"That it is," Rick agreed. "How'd you save 'em?"
"Had a gut feelin'. Jus', somethin' wasn' right, went ta check, saw the dude with a gun pointed at Shepard and she went down. Aimed for 'er head 'fore I did a jump kick right ova her ta stop the perp from killin' 'er. 'Course, 'e got tried for tryin' ta kill a cop and a triple homicide and was servin' a life sentence, but, yeah, that's the story a how I saved a cop."
"You're about as good at tellin' stories as your boyfriend, Tiny," Abraham remarked about Daryl, who was standing behind her.
"Husband," she corrected with a glare towards the man. "'Sides, what do ya mean?"
"'She's mine, I'm hers,'" he said in a gruff and frankly horrible attempt at Daryl's accent and voice that had Ani in stitches and Daryl scowling all over again.
"Oh gods!" she said as she started calming down. "That's the first and worst I eva heard someone try ta mimic Daryl's voice! Oh gods! Shite, that was good," she said while wiping her eye. "Neva was good with spoken stories. Let me write it down, and ya'll have a tale worth tellinn'. And, yeah, what Daryl said? That's all there is ta it."
Rick stated, "Alright. We've got a plan. Let's get to work."
Three shots and half an hour later, Ani was crouched halfway underneath Daryl listening as Noah came running by, a cop car hot on his trail. It swung around and tapped the boy, causing him to stop and grab his injured leg before he tried to hobble off in a different direction. The sound of two car doors opening and a man calling out came next, something clattering to the ground shortly after. It sounded and looked far worse than it was, but that didn't help Ani when it came to hating seeing the teen get hit. She peaked around the barrel she was behind to see who they were dealing with, a smile forming on her face at the sight of Lamsen and Shepard. Lamsen had taken her under his wing when she'd started at the precinct and helped her get remember everyone's names. Shepard had been pretty well unknown to her until she'd been taken to a crime scene with one of the other psychologists. The woman had almost been killed and while Ani really hadn't cared about it, just didn't want to see a good person die, she had made sure she lived. After that, most of the other officers just gradually congregated around her when she was in the office, which was why she tried to stay in her office rather than out in the pit.
"Where were those rotters you were shooting at?" they heard a man ask before, as a unit, they came out of hiding on both sides after Ani whistled the signal.
The nice thing was that it was a signal she'd used before with the police on scenes to gain attention, which had one of the cops immediately holstering her gun as Ani came into view. The other cop just stood there with his mouth gaping open as he saw the girl they had all assumed was dead until a teen brought her up. She had always been favored by the cops because she was so young, but they had all seen the scars and seen her before she had really started opening up. She had been a sixteen year old girl who barely spoke two words unless it was about a case when she'd started at the force and ended up being able to hold conversations and joke and smile. They'd watched her change from someone only just starting to crack their shell to someone who had thrown the better part of it away. In fact, it was why all the cops who knew her outside of work after a while kept her little secrets when it came to underage drinking and the use of weed. As long as she was discreet about it, which she had always been since they'd never caught her, they didn't care. Besides that, they all had done similar stupid things when they were kids and figured that after getting away with themselves, they could look the other way for her. She never caught on that they knew, either, and that was something they were all happy about; she would have quit the force out of shame if not fired on the spot for breaking laws herself. They never thought they'd see the girl again, let alone half of the force that had been dispursed throughout the city.
"She said she knew you!" Shepard said, hands up with a smile on her face.
"Beth good? And Carol?"
"The lady they brought in yesterday?"
"One and the same," Ani told her with a nod of her head, Lamsen holstering his weapon and cautiously moving forward until he could reach his hand out.
Ani clasped the man's forearm as he did hers, going over to Shepard and doing the same. Another car approached their area, slowing down considerably presumably due to the fact that Lamsen and Shepard were smiling and unarmed, even though they were surrounded by strangers. In all honesty, by the time the second car had gotten there, Shepard had gone into a much more detailed version of the story Ani had botched according to Abraham. Almost everyone was smiling, if not chuckling, at Shepard and Lamsen's stories of how Ani had put officers in their place time and time again. Apparently, she had never been able to just sit and listen to injustice, whether it was against someone else or one's self. She was always trying to make people better versions of themselves or, on the other hand, make sure they knew they weren't even good enough to take on a hundred pound teenager. If she wasn't able to get through with her words, she wasn't afraid to use her fists.
"Holy shit," Licari said as he got out of his car. "Little Tea! Been a hot minute!"
"Still a cue ball I see," she commented, earning a peel of laughter from the officers as well as Merle and Abraham.
"Still stating the obvious, I see," he countered with a grin, giving and getting the same greeting as the other two officers. "So, what brings you to the city?"
"Beth and Carol," Shepard told him. "She wants them back."
"And Noah," Ani said. "And whoeva else wants ta leave that damn hospital. Y'all in?"
"Been wanting to replace Dawn for a while," Shepard admitted. "Started off good enough with Hansen, then he made a bad call and four of our officers died. Dawn killed him and everything was good for a while but now..."
"At least Gorman's out of the picture," Lamsen agreed.
"Gorman's dead?" Ani and Noah said at the same time.
"Yeah, he, uh, he was attacked by a walker," Licari told them, leaving out the part where it was the walker of a woman he'd raped and ruined to the point of committing suicide rather than deal with it anymore. "Good riddance. Walking dumpster fire, and Dawn's not much better."
"What 'bout Jefferies and O'Donnell?"
"O'Donnell was killed by Gorman and the walker that attacked him. Jefferies is still there, though."
"Alright," Ani said while nodding her head. "Makes things a little easia ta move along. What about the othas? They good with demotin' the big bitch on campus?"
"With Gorman and O'Donnell out of the picture, the only one left that doesn't want Lamsen to take over is Jefferies," Shepard told her. "Wouldn't mind it if you stuck around and took over."
"Hell naw," Daryl said, pulling Ani away from them. "She's stayin' with us."
"Nah shite, Sherlock," Ani said with a laugh, turning in his arms and hugging him to try to get him to calm down; she could tell he was on edge being surrounded by so many people who knew her from before and unlike some people, she wanted him to know exactly what she thought.
"Wait, is that the redneck?" Shepard asked all of a sudden.
"Eh?" Ani asked, popping her head up.
"You remember? From your twenty first? Met a redneck at the bar, gave you a smoke? Wouldn't shut up about him for weeks?"
"It really was Ani!" Sophia exclaimed, making their group of people laugh as a look of realization crossed the woman's face.
"Holy shiteballs!" she shouted as she practically jumped out of Daryl's arms, the latter still wearing a confused expression. "'Can I get a fag?'" It finally dawned on Daryl what she meant when she said, "Called ya sweet and told ya a redneck was an asshole with a heart?"
"How the hell didn't you know?" Merle asked her as Daryl's face took on a look of absolute shock. "Don't you have that perfect memory shit?"
"It don' always work!" Ani defended. "Ya know how many Boston Sours I had that night?! I was so fuckin' lit! 'Xcept for a dream I had when I was alone, I couldn' rememba what the guy looked like. Rememba'd the way he scrunched 'is nose up at the funny name 'e was called, but couldn' rememba 'is face. Rememba I asked for a fag. Ya've told me twice ta put a shirt on, D!"
"Almost got in a bar fight over ya, too," Merle chuckled, causing Daryl to glare at him.
"Don't."
"Yeah, he walked back inside and this guy you came with was talkin' all sorts a smack 'bout how he was gonna take her to bed and make a real woman outta 'er. Went on and on about it 'til little ol' Darylina there gets a stick up his ass and decks the guy. Would've been a fight if the punk hadn't been knocked out cold. 'Course, they go outside to load 'im into a car and can't find the birthday girl. That almost started another fight 'til this crazy redhead came in laughin' her ass off sayin' it was time to go."
"Yeah, she was laughin' at me. Fell asleep outside," Ani said sheepishly. "Can' believe that was actually ya, Daryl. Goin' ta have ta apologize ta the kittens now."
"The fuck you gotta apologize to kittens for?" Daryl asked, coming out of his shock and looking at Ania in a whole new light.
"Told 'em ta shut it when they tried ta convince me it was ya. Like I said, had a dream 'bout that night. Thought me mind was jus' missin' ya so put ya in it. 'Specially when it didn' end right," she told him.
"Didn't end right?" Daryl asked, remembering that he'd almost kissed her in his own drunken state before Merle'd called out to him and made her laugh, calling him Darylina too.
"Yeah, don' rememba 'xactly what happened first," she admitted. "One us moved or Merle called ya that stupid ass name. Jus' know there was movement, I laughed and called ya that damn name. Sorry 'bout that by the way, I really was drunk."
"I know," he said, bringing his arms back tighter around her. "Can't fuckin' believe it was you that night. Couldn't get you out of my head."
"Can we just get back to the problem at hand?" Sasha asked, not wanting to make things awkward but unable to handle the small talk anymore; she'd thought Bob could be her soulmate and now he was gone yet Ani and Daryl had been star-crossed lovers brought back together by the universe itself it seemed.
"She's right," Ani said, immediately sobering up and looking down in shame, having momentarily forgotten what Sasha had just lost as she revelled in the thought of Daryl being jealous when it came to her, both then and now. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Let's just go."
~x~
August, Bridge, McKinnely, and Franco were all waiting by the only exit to the building that was clear as they walked up. Shepard had done a silent radio signal, pressing and holding her com for two seconds three times in a row before radioing in to Dawn that they were on their way back. It was a signal that those wanting Lamsen to replace Dawn had for when they needed to meet up about something. Being met with a large group of heavily armed civilians was the last thing the four officers expected to see before looks of shock and amazement crossed all their faces upon seeing Ani. The typical greeting given, much to Daryl's annoyance, Merle nudging the man with his elbow as he grimaced at Ani's closeness to the officers. If this was even a tenth of how she felt when he was defending Carol and trying to work things out between them, Daryl could understand how she felt. He wanted to drag her away from these people and slit their throats for even looking at her let alone that fucking greeting of theirs. Don't like bein' touched but sure as hell is friendly with them, he thought to himself before another story of Ani's time on the force was told. The only thing was, the story was from when she was seventeen, five or six years ago now, so she knew them all as intimately as she knew their group despite the time difference. It was Daryl's turn to have to remind himself that these were work friends and nothing more and that she wasn't staying with them. That thought was made that much harder to keep after a story about her cooking came to light and one of the officers tried joking around.
"Sure you won't marry, Tea?" August asked, having done so many times over the years due to her cooking skills.
"Can' marry a married woman," she told him, Daryl quickly grabbing her and wrap an arm around her waist while glaring at the man. "'Sides, ya say anythin' like that again, my man's gonna bash ya teeth in. Don' like people steppin' on 'is toes, if ya know what I mean."
"Yeah, she actually married that redneck she talked about all the damn time," Licari told them. "Can you believe that?"
"Damn, I owe you fifty," Franco told Bridge.
"Just fifty? I think I owe him three hundred!" August complained.
"What's this now?" Rick asked, amused at the officers' antics.
"Oh, because of how often August would ask her to marry him and how often she'd go on and on about her 'mystery redneck,' we started taking bets on if she'd find him or not and if she'd actually say yes to August some time just out of fun," Shepard chuckled. "Those two were the ones who bet against it."
"Seriously? How many othas were in on it?" Ani asked, her shoulders slumping as she realized the state of her affairs had not been as private as she'd've liked back in the day.
"Pretty much the whole precinct," Lamsen told her.
"Gods, y'all are the worst!"
"Hey, our little Sherlock was the talk over coffee," August told her. "Well, you or what I was doin' with Denis later."
"He make it?"
"Yeah, thank God. He's upstairs," August told her.
"Good, I'm glad ya man's fine. Did 'e eva learn how ta cook or does 'e leave it ta the workas?"
"I wouldn't let that man cook even if it meant dyin'," August said seriously, causing all the officers to laugh.
"Let's get in there. I want ta be on the road and out a the city 'fore dark," Ani said, getting everyone back on track and heading into the hospital.
When Ani balked at the stairs, Daryl didn't give her room to argue as he picked her up, carrying her up all five flights of stairs. On the third floor, they'd discovered the dead body of Jefferies while halfway between the fourth and fifth they found a very shaken Beth. Ani's blood was boiling all over again when she heard that Lerner had given Jefferies the go ahead to do whatever he wanted to Beth. The bitch actually wanted to use Jefferies to teach the teenage girl a lesson on who really held power over the other. They'd been in the stairwell because he'd forced himself through the door when she ran after stealing the keys from Lerner's office. After being assured that they weren't going to be held responsible, and learning that Gorman had been raping a woman and the dead man on the stairs liked to watch, Ani simply asked where Lerner was. She told them to sit tight before she started moving silently down the corridor until she reached where she had been told Lerner's office was. She didn't even bother knocking, just entered it to find the woman sitting at her desk looking white as a ghost as Ani smiled at her and walked closer.
"Hear ya got somethin' a mine."
"Now, Parker, no one has to get hurt," Dawn tried to tell her.
"People have already been hurt. Ya let one a the offica's rape a girl. Let a couple a them watch. Did nothin' 'bout Jefferies beatin' the old man. Set Jefferies on my baby sista. Didn' give my man's person medicine that could help 'er."
"Beth. She told you all that?"
"Nah," Ani said. "Didn' have ta. The good officas, the ones that don' agree with what ya've done, the one's that've been tryin' ta stop it. They told me."
"The shots Shepard went to investigate," Dawn said, realizing just how much thought had been put into all this. "We can end this. I can walk away. I can step down. It doesn't have to go any further than this."
"Don't be so sure. Beth said she signed ya death warrant."
It was the way Lerner tensed and her hand twitched that had Ani moving to her left and behind a filing cabinet as the cop drew her gun and fired a shot, Daryl's yell for her clear as day even from the office. She yelled back at him to stay where he was even as she drew one of her knives and fell to a crouching position behind the metal container. Lerner wasn't the best shot and she was hardly tried on the field of battle and that just meant that she was less of a threat to Ani than the walkers were. Even before the world went to shit, the woman had been a thorn in Ani's side, always trying to get her to admit she was faking it or slip her up in what she told them about her home life. She had always made snide remarks about Ani being a know-it-all, which Ani never said anything about because Lerner hadn't been the only one, but she also actively fought against her. Any time Ani had been brought in to look over case files, watch testimony videos, videos of interrogations, even when she had to go to court as an expert witnees, Lerner had tried to fight against her judgments. It was the fact that the woman refused to believe people like her actually existed combined with an old school style of thinking that mental health issues were nothing more than weakness that was her true crime, though. Even after being forced to take a leave of abscence and attend classes on those with mental illness and neurodivergence, the woman had refused to change and continued making her remarks. Ani had no reason to fear such a physically and mentally weak woman when she had faced down so much worse than that.
"It didn't have to be like this," Dawn told her as she waited for her opening. "You could've just taken your people and left. You could have taken my offer to let me walk."
"Ya know I ain' goin' ta do that," Ani said just before the door was kicked open and Dawn moved her gun to aim at Daryl, making her scream, "NO!"
Ani saw the gun pointed at her husband and her mind went blank as it played a scene of him being shot and his blood staining the ground. She didn't even think before she dropped her knives and took two large steps, moving right in front of the gun with her back to Dawn. She brought her arms down so harshly she almost felt the bones in Dawn's arm crack to make her miss her shot. Dawn fired nonetheless, just missing Ani's leg as it fell from her hand while Daryl yelled and drew his own gun. Even though the shot had missed her, Daryl had only reacted to the fact that she was in the line of fire and had his own pistol drawn, locked, and loaded as he aimed it and pulled the trigger. The thought that she was going to get shot right in front of him, that he couldn't do anything to protect her, hadn't let him think too much before he shot the woman. When Dawn's head flew back, Ani's face was covered in blood as she moved away from the falling body and gagged. Daryl was at her side in two strides, checking her for injuries and wiping the blood off her face before pulling her tight into his chest, not giving her room to argue or pull away.
"All I could see was you goin' down," he murmured in her ear as cried into her hair. "All I could see..."
"I know," Ani told him. "I'm fine. Nothin' ha-"
Whatever she was going to say got cut off by Daryl's lips on hers in a heated kiss for the first time since before she had gotten sick, before they went to the Big Spot. Ani literally melted into his arms and brought one hand around his neck and the other into his hair. She momentarily forgot every insecurity she had been feeling and was completely unaware that they had an audience until someone cleared their throat. Most of the people they'd come into the hospital with were watching the pair, smiles on a lot of faces from their group as they saw them acting normally for the first time. Dr. Edwards pushed Carol over to Rick as she looked into the room, happy to see everyone while noticing that Daryl and Ani were behaving like they always had. A lot of the officers agreed that it was a good thing Dawn was dead, and Ani made sure to lay into Lamsen about what she expected Grady to become now that someone decent was in charge. They all started saying goodbye until Ani's right ankle gave out again, prompting Dr. Edwards to retrieve a couple of air casts for her. He explained that they were reusable and seeing as she'd hurt both ankles, having these on hand would be beneficial to her and the others. Especially considering it was highly probable that such injuries would continue in Ani's case due to the number of times she had rolled her right ankle in such a short amount of time according to the doctor. It didn't take them long before they made it back to the fire truck and loaded up, Carol sitting on the other side of Daryl as Beth talked about what had happened. They were out of the city with plenty of time to spare before sundown with Beth and Maggie reunited and Ani worrying about Daryl and Carol all over again.