Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Twilight or Walking Dead. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Robert Kirkman. I do own the original characters created for this storyline. Please support the official release.

Writer's Notes: Thank you everyone for your support! I love this story so much. We have aome exciting things about to start! Stay tuned! Today is my little ones birthday so I won't have another update for you guys tonight but I will try to get updates out by Sunday. Don't forget to follow, favorite and review!

It was early in the morning when Bella woke up. Everyone was exhausted from the storm that wrecked havoc outside the barn all day and night. Bella didn't even remember falling asleep but she had. Aya was snuggled against Rick, still sleeping and Carl was curled against Rick's back. Bella got to her feet quietly, brushing off the hay that clung to her as she stood. She walked to the barn door and she peeked through the crack too the world outside. The sun wasn't all the way in the sky yet, but you could tell that morning was here. She quietly slid the brace off the track and she opened the door wide enough and grabbed her crossbow so she could take a look outside. There were trees laid over from the tornado that seemingly skipped past them. Bella wasn't a faithful person or religious by any measure, but she felt like something had protected them in the barn last night. She walked steadily across the damp forest floor, the air a little cooler than normal. After a tornado, sometimes the temperature could drop, but as the sun made it's way higher in the sky, the air would warm up.

Bella heard the subtle snapping of some twigs and she spun with her crossbow, but didn't fire when she saw a man, his hands raised in surrender. Her eyes narrowed and she searched the trees behind him to see if he was alone. "Who are you?" He was a slender man, his hair was a chesnut color and his eyes seemed kind. He was carrying a backpack and he was wearing a plaid button up shirt and blue jeans, as well as expensive looking hiking boots that were a little dirty.

"Aaron." He supplied. "I only want to help. I saw the van stalled on the road. Saw supplies for a child." He said, his tone was friendly, light and calm.

Bella didn't trust him and that was the normal. She didn't trust a lot of people upon meeting them the first time, especially in this world. "The tornado forced us to seek shelter."

"I know. The van was blown on it's side, you made the right call." Aaron said with a nod. "This barn has been here for ages."

"You live nearby?" Bella asked. "Are you alone?"

"I am alone." Aaron nodded. "I'm not here to harm. I want to take you to a place where you can be safe, forever. We have walls, we have working water and food."

Bella was quiet a moment. "Alexandria?" She asked.

"Yes." Aaron frowned. "How did you know?"

"We saw signs for Alexandria. That was where we were headed. To see if something could be permanent there." Bella explained, she heard footsteps behind her, but the slight jingle of Daryl's crossbow as he came to back her up.

Aaron kept his hands raised. "I promise you, I really mean you no harm. I only want to help. Alexandria is habitable. We have been surviving there since the outbreak. Our mayor is a kind woman."

Bella wanted it to be true. Wanted to trust that there were still good people left in the world. "Do you have proof?"

Aaron nodded. "I do. In my backpack."

Bella moved towards him and Aaron stood like he was while Bella unzipped his pack and reached inside, finding an envelop with pictures inside. She sifted through them while Daryl kept his crossbow trained on Aaron. "It's real." She said and looked up at Daryl. "Our gut was right." She said and shoved the pictures back inside his backpack, zipping it back up.

"I can take you both and your child." Aaron suggested.

Bella looked at Daryl. "We have way more than a child. We have an entire group." She said and faced Aaron. "3 toddlers, a baby, three teenagers." She said. "Then there are eleven of us."

Aaron seemed surprised. "You fit everyone in one van?"

"We had motorcycles. Obviously not anymore." Daryl said, his tone gruff.

Rick emerged, hearing voices, he was on high alert as he joined everyone. Bella and Daryl seemed to have their guard up, so he had his up as well. "What's going on?"

"Alexandria has citizens that are surviving this shithole." Daryl gave the short version.

"Good." Rick said. "Take us."

"Well I can take a few at a time, we-"

"No, we all go together." Bella said, cutting him off. "If you're lying to us and somehow the pictures are fake, we will kill you." She threatened.

Aaron nodded. "Okay. Yes, that will be okay." He said and swallowed. "We can hike there. It's about an hour's hike."

"I'll get the others." Rick said, trusting that Daryl and Bella could handle Aaron while he rallied everyone. If this place was real, then that would alleviate a lot of stress they were all under, especially Bella. Bella threatening to kill someone was out of character for her and he knew that it was because they had been moving around so much without a permanent solution to their situation since the farm got overrun.

[Alexandria]

Bella surveyed the walls that contained Alexandria. Large metal panels erected at least 15 feet high and with steel beams. There was a gate in front of them that seemed to be a manual open and there was a platform with a person up there.

"Open the gate Spencer!" Aaron called up. The man ducked down off the platform and a few moments later, the gate opened and Aaron led everyone inside.

Bella saw the neighborhood, so clean. There was no litter scattered on the ground… there were no walkers and from first glance, everything looked safe.

A woman greeted them. She was older, hair cut off above her shoulders and it was graying but had a bronze tint to it. Her eyes were a dark brown and she was dressed in clean clothes.

"Welcome to Alexandria. I am Deanna Monroe." Deanna introduced. "Who is your leader?" She said looking at the group.

Bella glanced at Rick and nodded, he cleared his throat.

"Rick Grimes." Rick spoke up. He was scruffier than he wanted, he had a full beard right now and surprisingly Aya liked the beard. Sometimes babies were afraid of beards, but Aya was so content and rarely cried.

Deanna nodded. "Weapons have to be checked in. Don't worry, they are your property and you can check them out if you leave beyond the gate." She reassured.

Bella didn't like that. She looked at Aya's sleeping face then over at Rick and gave him a nod. If they wanted to be safe… sacrifices had to be made. If there were rules here, they would figure it out and find out if these people really were safe people. She didn't need a weapon to defend herself, so she was confident that she could protect Aya and the other children without them.

Rick took his sidearm from his hip and looked at the woman that approached with a flat cart. She seemed young, maybe late twenties, dark hair, dark eyes and she wore glasses. She was dressed casually, she seemed nervous to be around Rick and the others.

It was a sight to take in. Everyone was dirty, from the last months having to travel. Without running water to really clean up fully, it was hard to scrub walker blood off of you.

Deanna kept a friendly smile. "Aaron, if you'll take them to 263 and 265, those houses will be plenty big for the group. I would like to do some interviews. It's just a basic formality, but I do want you all to be able to clean up and get some rest. That tornado must have been frightening and tiring." She said with a nod.

"Houses?" Rick asked.

"Yes Mr. Grimes. There are two vacant houses that you all can have. Running water, electric. We have a food pantry and we do have a clothes pantry. Denise here will be sure to have some clothes brought over so everyone can be more comfortable. Feel free to make yourselves at home and explore. We are a community and want you all to feel part of the community as well." She said. "This is my house here." She motioned to the first house by the gate. "Come find me when you're ready for the interview process."

Aaron smiled and looked at Rick. "Follow me."

Bella sat in the brown leather chair in the study at Deanna's house. Everything was so clean and organized. The houses were grand, the details in the crown molding, to the hardware floors that went throughout the house. The shower at the house that Aaron brought them to, was the best shower she had felt in a long time. Even her apartment back in Atlanta wasn't this great. She was able to finally wash her hair fully and give Aya her first shower. She held her and washed off, Aya seemed to enjoy the water on her back. She was starting to relax a little, but her guard was still up. She wanted to trust this place so much, but she had more to think about than just herself.

Deanne joined Bella after a few short minutes. She smiled at Bella. "So, Aaron tells me that he found you guys after the tornado in the old barn not far from here."

"He did." Bella said.

Deanna smiled. "Well, do you mind if I record this with the camera?"

Bella nodded. "Go for it."

Deanna flipped on the camera, pushing record. "First, let's start with your name."

Bella swallowed. "Captain Isabella Swan. But… call me Bella."

"Captain. Are you in the military?"

"Army."

Deanna nodded. "What did you do in the army?"

"I was a combat medic."

"Oh, that's awesome."

Bella liked to think that being a combat medic was a special part of her. "I agree. I was a surgeon before the Army." She sat up a little bit in her chair and clasped her hands in front of her.

"That's exceptional." Deanna said, still smiling. "You have a large group. You're the first to come do the interviews. I expected Rick to be first. Something tells me… you're more of the group leader."

Bella smiled a little bit and leaned forward a bit. "Rick is every bit a leader."

"A leader? So no one is a leader by themselves?"

"There are a lot of us." Bella agreed.

"Of course." Deanna said with a nod. "Tell me a bit about your journey Bella.

Bella thought about the beginning. "I am from Washington State, but I moved around a lot. My dad… was a marine. My mother was a navy nurse. I was living in Atlanta, Georgia when the outbreak happened. My dad was spun up at the time with my best friend's dad. My best friend was visiting in Georgia right before this happened and so we bunked down in a smaller town outside of Atlanta. King County." She shifted a little and when Deanna only nodded like she was listening, Bella continued. "I met Rick in King County. He had just woke up from a coma in the hospital and the first place he went was his home in King County looking for his wife and son. He was still slightly injured… he was shot in the line of duty. He was a sheriff before all of this, but he'll tell you his own story." She said and paused. "He wanted to look for his wife and son, so… me, Rick and Jake went to Atlanta. But it was… overrun. The dead gather for some reason together. In large herds. Atlanta was full. We met Glenn…T-Dogg. In Atlanta, along with some others. We escaped Atlanta and made it to a Quarry right outside the city. It's where Glenn and the others were camping out since the start."

"How long from the time the outbreak happened, til finding Glenn and the others?" Deanna was curious.

"Two months." Bella said with a nod. "We made it back to the Quarry and we did find Rick's wife and son there. And Rick's old partner from King County."

Deanna leaned forward. "But something bad happened?"

"My satellite phone started beeping. It was the first time it had beeped since the start. It was Jasper. He was stuck in Atlanta with his brother… Corporal Lahote and his brother's wife." Bella was silent a moment as the images revisited her. It was haunting to remember Charlotte turning in the Highlander and attacked Peter. Losing Paul back on the farm because of the herd that trampled through and Paul sacrificed himself to buy them more time to get away safely.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Deanna asked, frowning a little.

Bella nodded. "Yes. Um… Daryl, Jake, me… we went back to Atlanta to get Jasper and the others. We made it out but Charlotte… Jasper's sister in law, she was ill. Not bitten, but… ill." She said and blew out a breath. "She died on the way back. Turned and attacked her husband, killing him." She cleared her throat. "We found an RV park and we drove two RVs off the lot back to the Quarry. There was a tornado then too. The high winds destroyed the camp by the Quarry." She ran a hand over her braided hair. "There was… a commotion after the storm broke the next day. Rick… myself included. We uh, wanted to leave the Quarry. I was attacked by Rick's partner and he tried to kill me. We fought, I won, but Rick's wife shot me. I um…"She shook her head. "That's Rick's story as well." She blew out a breath. "Shane… Rick's partner, he stabbed me after I was shot in our tussle and Rick shot Shane. We discovered that it doesn't matter… if you are bit or not. When you die… you do come back… as one of walking dead."

Deanna gasped, shocked. "You're certain?"

"We're certain." Bella said. "He wasn't the only one. Char… she was ill. Not bit. She died and came back. Shane was just a reaffirmation of that fact."

"What happened next?"

"The gun shots drew in a small herd of the biters. People died at camp, but we managed to survive. We took the RVs and we started driving away from the Quarry. We ended up in Greenville, Georgia. It was getting harder and harder to move the RVs through the cars that were abandoned in the roads. So we stopped to clear a path and to transport supplies from an old camper into one of the RVs so we could condense what we had. A small herd was moving through and we hid under the cars. We had limited ammo and resources so we didn't want to waste energy on trying to fight off that many at one time. We thought it was clear, so Sophia left her hiding spot, but there were some stragglers. She ran away into the woods… and was lost."

Deanna covered a hand over her heart. "But you found her?"

Bella nodded. "We barely found her. On our search, Carl, Rick's son. He was shot accidentally. Hershel's farm wasn't far away and there was a deer. Just a… deer…."She murmured and flashed back to seeing Carl being shot… all the blood… the surgery, transfusing him.

"The poor boy…"Deanna murmured.

"Otis, he's not with us anymore but, he brought us to Hershel on the farm and with Hershel's help and his supplies, I was able to remove the buckshot and repair the wound. I am O-Negative, so I did a battlefield transfusion so he could live." Bella nodded. "But we still hadn't found Sophia. It took us… two weeks to find her. She was hidden in the church that Carl was shot at. We were just… twenty feet away, but then Carl being shot took over." She sighed. "That was our home… for many months. Until thousands of the dead marched through and we were force to abandon our home. We lost good people in the process. Someone I considered a brother… Otis… his wife. Andrea. She was uh…. she grew on you when you got to know her and sweet Dale." She shook her head. "I was pregnant. Forced to run… I had to take Carl's hand off because he was bit. He's fine now obviously, but all the trauma. It was too much. I went into labor while we were on the move. Jasper delivered my daughter… prematurely but we were able to keep her surviving. Rick made sure of it. She's… she's almost four months old now."

"The little girl you were carrying when you arrived? That's your daughter?" Deanna asked.

"Yes. Aya." Bella nodded. "Um. Lucky, Chance and Hope are all a year old now. I found them when they were barely three months old at the hospital in Clearview. Annalise was taking care of them along with a nurse, but the nurse had died a few weeks before we made it to the hospital. Otis and Patricia had essentially adopted the three, but…"

Deanna felt sorrow for this group. They had experienced so much. "I'm so sorry."

"We don't need sorries Ms. Monroe. When Aaron found us, we were on our way here. We saw signs for a new subdivision being built. We had no way of knowing anyone was alive here. We were thinking of construction equipment and a means to build something so our children could be safe."

"I assure you that you all are very safe here. Your children are safe and will remain safe." Deanna promised.

Bella shook her head. "We're not bad people, but there are bad people in this world. I have met enough of them already that I don't want to ever deal with bad people again. I will protect my family… at all cost and even at the sacrifice of my own life. So, when you say that this is a safehaven, I want to believe you. But I don't trust you. Not yet, and I don't give away my trust very easily."

"I don't expect you to be trustworthy yet. I don't know you either, but I feel that I can trust you. You're a strong woman Bella and very impressive. Your role here… at Alexandria, will be largely beneficial to our survival as well. We don't have military here. None of us ever served. We don't have the tenacity you do. None of us have experienced the dead outside these walls. My husband designed this place and these walls have never been breached. We don't have many weapons, but we make do. We do have runners that gather supplies from nearby areas, but they don't talk about the dead. Not like you have."

"The dead are not the most dangerous things that lurk out there." Bella said and stood. "But, I want to make this my home an I will follow your rules, but I will not jeopardize my family."

"I completely agree and understand." Deanna stood and turned the camera off. "Bella… I want you to feel like you can be comfortable here. I want you to know that you and your group can come and go as you please. There are no boundaries for you. We are very transparent. We do have weekly food rations, but that is to make sure we have food to survive."

Bella nodded. "No hunters?"

"I'm afraid we have been living off canned meats when we find it. Nothing of susitance there." Deanna said.

Bella thought about it. "Daryl is a hunter as am I. We'll make sure the town has protein. It's… an olive branch." She said and extended a hand.

Deanna shook Bella's hand and nodded. "That would be much appreciated."

"Give us all a job. We want to be apart of the community. It's a start."

"I plan on making sure everyone does their fair share." Deanna smiled. "Welcome to Alexandria Bella."

"Thank you. Ms. Monroe."

"Deanna." Deanna corrected her.

"Deanna." Bella said with a nod before she left. She walked down the stairs and met Rick. "Hey."

Rick was cleaned up, shaven. He was wearing just simple blue jeans with his boots and the shirt he wore was short sleeved and a button up. "Hey, how was it? Any surprises?"

Bella shook her head. "No. Just a background. Just tell your story." She said. "How was Aya?"

"She was doing tummy time with Anna in the room that Carl picked for her and the triplets."

"They're not really triplets." Bella pointed out.

"Well there's three of them." Rick smiled. "This place is really safe. I walked the whole wall with Jasper and Glenn. We can rest easy."

Bella nodded. "Well, Deanna wants to give us all jobs so." She looked back up at Deanna's house and Deanna was on the front porch talking to Reg, her husband. She looked back at Rick. "We're safe." She blew out a breath.

Rick leaned in and kissed her. "Baby, we're safe for now. Go back to the house… lay down for a bit and just rest."

Bella kissed him back and nodded. "Okay." She murmured and then she left Rick to go back to the house. It was going to take some getting used to… being safe.