Heart of a Hunter

by ChamberMom88

Tea spent her life being the odd man out. Having spent her younger years suffering abuse for being autistic and ADHD, she came into the apocalypse ready to take on the world all alone if she had to. Neither she nor a certain redneck expected to be pulled towards the other, but at the end of the world, who can say no to love?

22. Chapter 22

Newly Revised

They'd taken to moving about again as the weather started getting warmer, only to constantly get cut off at every turn it seemed. Food was starting to come up short and Tea was starting to get worried as scavenging became harder and harder. Several of them were getting ready to clear a house they were hoping to stay in for the evening since they hadn't managed to find a place without walkers coming after them. Handing T-Dog a fireplace poker, she motioned for him to follow Rick, another hand signal to Daryl and Carl as the four of them lined up at the door as Tea went around the back with Sophia, leaving Glenn and Maggie to sweep the perimeter. When she heard the door kick open, she kicked open her door and quickly entered the kitchen area. Separating and searching the house carefully, Tea climbed the steps and watched as Carl took down a walker that had been in the upstairs bathroom. She gave him a high five before the two of them went back downstairs where Carl wandered off. Daryl came down the stairs plucking an owl's feathers, Tea reminding him not to damage the ones they could use for arrows, with Sophia following behind him. Rick whistled for the others to enter the building, each of them bringing in the necessities they needed from the vehicles. Carl had found some dog food he showed Tea, who told him they weren't that hard up that they needed dog food. She could still make a decent soup out of the greens that were starting to come up and the fresh spruce tips they could harvest now. Everyone had gone into the living room and were about ready to settle in when T-Dog noticed a group of walkers closing in on them.

They grabbed their stuff in a hurry and got to their vehicles, throwing it all in and taking off just as a group of walkers began to swarm them. Tea wasn't bothered by the burden of leading anymore but the lack of stability, the constant change, the constant moving was wearing her down. But as time wore on, she let Rick be the mouthpiece for most of the talking as her mind still got the better of her due to all the running. She talked less and less until the only people she talked to unless necessary were Rick, Daryl, and the kids, Beth included even though she wasn't technically a kid, just extremely sheltered. It didn't help that she had completely pulled away from any and all physical contact except with Daryl, and even then, he found himself having to initiate it all by the time the weather got warmer. Still, now that they could use the bike again, she had to touch him, and she did, almost constantly glued to his back every time they were on it.

They rode down the road for a long way until there were no buildings, just leaves, before they pulled over near a railway. Carl ran up to Tea with Rick not far behind so they could figure out the next move quietly talking between each other about where a possible place to go would be. Tea looked behind her to make sure everyone who could proficiently use a weapon had one at the ready as they waited for the next step, only to see Lori looked like she was about to be sick. It explained why they'd stopped so suddenly instead of waiting until they'd gotten out of the woods like the plan had been as she watched Carol fussing over the woman. The two of them driving in the same car now since Rick, Carl, and Sophia had taken to moving in a new truck that had all their surplus supplies on it covered in a tarp.

Neither Rick nor Carl was even talking to Lori anymore and did not hide the fact that they both were adamantly ignoring her when she tried talking to them at all. Carl had completely disassociated from the entire situation and ignored Lori more often than not, not even letting her chastise him. Rick and Tea were the only ones that could set him straight when he had done something foolish or needed a stern talking to while Lori could barely say two words to him without the boy talking back. Of course, as his father, Rick took the lead in when it came to talking to Carl about his behavior while Tea called him out on the dangerous things he was doing and would give him more responsibilities while Tea gave him responsibilities like helping them clear, helping on watch, and taking stock of the food. The boy was angry that his dad had only been gone only a month when his mom started sleeping with the man he'd considered an uncle. On top of that, he didn't know if his sibling was his dad's or Shane's, which gave him conflicted opinions about it. Tea had managed to convince him that the baby wasn't to blame in the situation and that he didn't have to make any choices or feel anything until the baby was born, but he can't blame the child for the mother's mistakes.

He didn't know what to think about Shane anymore, either, after finding out about the affair, the fact he almost raped Lori, and that he'd tried to do the same to Tea. Carl mourned the man's loss but was so angry at him for destroying his family and hurting his friends that he couldn't properly deal with the death at all. Every time she would try to talk to Lori about how Carl was feeling, she was always met with the same basic message of 'mother knows best' that made Tea want to clock her in the jaw. It hadn't helped that she was much like Carol with Sophia and didn't want Carl to do so much for the group because it would put him in harms way. Rick and Tea always ganged up on both mothers on that front because the reality of the situation was that the kids needed experience if they weren't going to die before they reached adulthood. Lori had given up fighting them about it by the time they had to move every day again, but for every breakthrough Tea made with Carl, his mother would open her mouth and make things worse all over again.

Sophia was riding in the truck with the two Grimes men because Carol had gotten angry at the fact that the girl was willing to do what Tea told her do, even if she, her own mother, told her otherwise. Part of that was because Tea had taken to counseling both Carol and Sophia about what happened with Ed and pushing them both to heal, but Carol was fighting it every step of the way while Sophia opened up readily. Neither woman was particularly fond of each other and it was fair to say that Sophia was caught in the middle of the entire thing which made Tea try her hardest to be friendly with Carol. And it was hard due to what Sophia had told her about her home life and everything Carol had failed to protect her from. Ed really had been a monster and she truly did understand Carol's reasons, even if she didn't tell Tea what they were, for staying in the beginning. Abusive relationships, whether physical, emotional, mental, or financial, were some of the hardest relationships to break, and Ed had Carol trapped on all fronts. She wasn't allowed to work, she wasn't allowed to speak out, if she didn't cook what he wanted he'd shout at her and do worse. The worst thing Tea had heard was how they'd run once but Carol had gone back; it happened a lot with abusive relationships and she knew it, but it didn't change how she felt about it.

Tea just couldn't separate what had happened to her at home with how Sophia had been treated in hers and it made it hard for her to look past the situation and not judge. The only saving grace Carol had was how she'd prayed for Ed's death, but that grace was rather small considering the lecture she'd tried to give Tea when Tea told her there was no such thing as sin. A few weeks after that, though, the stress got the best of her and she'd only been able to write since then and hadn't been able to make any further progress with Carol. Sophia, on the other hand, filled the silence when it was the two of them with how different her life was now and was willing to wait on Tea's written replies when she had something important she wanted to get out. That alone had made Carol very standoffish with Tea while trying to treat Sophia like the same little girl she used to be rather than the warrior princess she had become.

"15, your on point," Rick told Carl while Tea gave Sophia a signal to stay with him as the three of them met up with the rest of the group.

"We got no place left to go," T-Dog said as Glenn and Maggie spread out a map riddled with Tea's color coding, new colors indicating where they had met with herds and their likely patterns and where they had picked clean.

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off," Maggie said, indicating areas on the map. "We'll never make it south."

"What would you say? That was about 150 head?" Daryl asked Glenn and Tea.

"That was last week. It could be twice that by now," Glenn answered, having gotten used to Tea's lack of conversation as she just nodded her head along with what he was saying.

"This river could have delayed them," Hershel said as Tea scanned over the rest of the group, proud at seeing the rest of them standing watch to the sides so that they could have their powwow. "If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through there."

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one," T-Dog pointed out. "It could spill out this way."

"So we're blocked," Maggie said.

Tea nodded her head from side to side while alternately shrugging her shoulders, essentially saying 'more or less' in a way the group understood.

"Only thing to do is double back at 27 and swing through Greenville," Rick said.

"Yeah, we picked through that already. It's, it's like we spent the winter going in circles," T-Dog said.

"Yeah, I know, I know," Rick tried to say reassuringly, letting them know what he and Tea had discussed the night before. "At Newnan we'll push west. We haven't been through there yet. We can't keep going house to house. Need to find someplace to hole up for a few weeks," he said while looking off towards Lori.

"Alright," T-Dog said. "Is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? It won't take long. Gotta fill up our water. We can boil it later."

"Knock yourself out," he told the man, turning to talk to Hershel while she grabbed her crossbow out of the back of his truck.

"Hey, while the others wash their panties, let's go hunt," Daryl told Rick when Tea walked back over to him. "That owl didn't exactly hit the spot."

Rick readily agreed and he and Tea gave orders to the kids before the three of them headed out. Daryl and Rick provided much of the conversation behind her and she was happy to listen in and contribute a little to the conversation herself. It was easier when it was just Daryl and her to talk, and she was used to talking to Rick to discuss what happened next, though at times it got so bad inside her head that she glued herself to Daryl and would only write her thoughts out. The man had been a godsend the last few months; even with how frustrated the man was with her, he never stopped giving her what she needed, aside from space. That was one thing he hadn't been willing to give her as time went by and she regressed further into autistic shutdown that she couldn't speak and couldn't initiate the touches anymore that she'd already been feeling guilty of depriving him of since the storage units. It didn't help that she was tired all the time, too, which was probably why, when she looked out over the stream, she stopped in her tracks and didn't think about the men behind her as she did. Daryl didn't notice her abrupt stop and ran right into her back, causing her to pitch forward and almost lose her balance down the small embankment that led to the water. Both Rick and Daryl reached forward to pull her back while she pointed across the river where a prison was just sitting untouched, as far as she could tell. The yard had fifty or so walkers in the field, but the entire thing was relatively closed off by the fences that surrounded the yard. It was too good to be true if they could get inside and get the walkers cleared, gaining not only a roof over their heads, but a good solid place they could potentially rebuild from. At the very least, she figured they'd be safe enough to take a prolonged break while the baby was born and hopefully through the early phases when all it would do was cry. It definitely wasn't perfect or pretty, but the fence would keep the walkers out and they could field to plant crops in, the prison itself being able to provide the shelter they desperately needed. Tea had a soft smile on her face at the thought that after all these months they found a place that she could rest and recharge, a place that could finally be a home.

"That's a damn shame," Daryl said about it as he righted Tea, brushing his fingers down her back before pulling on her hip to bring her closer to him.

"Rick," Tea said, giving him a look he shared, one of hope and determination.

"I know. Let's get back to the others. We should be able to clear the yard before the end of the day."

"We do that, we can go huntin' some more around here so's people can eat," Daryl offered.

"If we can get inta that prison, it could be that safe space ya been talkin' 'bout, D," Tea said with a smile, making the men smile too. "Not that ya ain' said nothin' Rick, jus'...well..."

"I get it," Rick told her, shaking his head as he looked at the two that had only grown closer over the winter.

She had become even more stone-faced these last few months. While Daryl took it in stride, being able to read the woman's body through touch and having a much keener ability to read what little there was in her face or on her eyes, Rick had been obsessively worrying. It had even earned them a running joke about being the three musketeers. T-Dog had come up with it, but Glenn had taken it a step further and assigned each of them one of the roles. Apparently, Tea was Athos, because she was the 'troubled leader with mad skills and super intelligence.' Daryl was supposedly Aramis, seeing as how he was always so brooding and, earning a rare peel of laughter from the entire group, Tea's being the loudest and longest, dramatic. Daryl had told him to shut up and went about pouting until Tea said she'd always had a thing for Aramis, which earned an 'it figures' from T-Dog and another round of chuckles from the group. That left Rick being Porthos, the one who held everything together when the other two were at odds with his wit and charm. They just worked well as a team, even though Daryl technically had second-man status compared to Tea's leadership. Rick hadn't seen Tea talk to the group or laugh as much since that night almost a month ago and it was comforting to see her looking so hopeful again after months on the road.

They headed back to the road before they even tried to do any hunting, reaching it just as the others were packing up the water into the back of their supply truck. Rick told them about the prison and they all decided to drive closer to the structure, but also decided that it was probably best to leave their vehicles on the outer premise of the fence just in case there was someone inside the prison itself. Everyone geared up and grabbed whatever they would need, most of them carrying makeshift blunt weapons made of metal pipes, crowbars, and really anything that was sturdy enough to go through a walker's skull. Rick carried the gun bag while Tea had a hold of the bolt cutters as they reached the fence, Tea instinctively handing the tool over to Rick when he kneeled down and reached back. He cut a hole large enough for the majority of them to fit through, though Lori's big belly would require stretching it a bit and Daryl and he had to duck down to enter. Maggie and Glenn tag teamed a walker coming up on them while Tea and Rick held the gate open for the others to go through until it was just her and Lori out of the fence, Tea not moving from her spot at the rear until the pregnant lady went through. Daryl held the fence open from the inside for her and as soon as she was through he and Glenn got to work using a cable to close the hole up not a moment too soon as a walker came crashing into the fence and made Glenn jump back from where he'd secured the cable. Running along the dog-walk, the group kept to the tight formation Tea had trained them to use shortly after they left the farm in order to keep those who could fight in a position to protect those who couldn't. Lori, Beth, Carol, and Hershel were in the middle while Tea, Daryl, and Rick took the lead position. Carl and Sophia each protected the four non-combatants, as Tea liked to call them, from their respective sides while T-Dog, Glenn, and Maggie covered the rear. The formation was the easiest to make sure that the most dangerous positions were covered by the most experienced fighters in the group while giving the kids something that made them feel useful.

"It's perfect," Rick said as they stopped by the second gate and dropped the gear they brought with them. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can take out these walkers. Take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked.

"I'll do it. You guys cover me," Glenn offered.

"No," Maggie said. "It's a suicide run."

"I'm the fastest," he insisted.

"Ya wish!" Tea said, looking somewhat crazed with the smile on her face and the glint in her eye; the entire group was momentarily startled by the difference, but she was way too amped up on adrenaline and dopamine to feel anything other than excitement. "'Sides, got otha plans for ya. I need ya, Maggie, and Beth make some noise and move as many as ya can away from the gate here."

"Pop 'em through the fence," Rick agreed. "Daryl, go back to the other tower."

"Carol, ya gettin' ta be a decent shot, so go with Daryl. Don' fuckin' hit me, eitha. Take ya time and make sure ya aim carefully. We don' have a lot of ammo ta waste and ya got plenty a time ta line up ya shot. Phia, ya go too. ," Tea told them, cutting Rick off, who just shook his head as he and Daryl shared a look. "Hershel, take this tower with Carl. Rick, ya go too. I'll go for the gate."

"Ania, no," Daryl told her as soon as he heard her words.

"Got ta get it done and I actually am the fastest in the group, and the smallest. Makes it easia ta slip through," she told him, placing a hand on his forearm. "'Sides, I've got ya lookin' out for me, don' I?"

He grabbed her around the waste and gave her a hard but quick kiss before heading back to the tower he was assigned. Glenn handed her a pair of clips on a chain while T-Dog and the others got busy drawing walkers to the fence. Rick and the others got into place while Tea took a runners position, though her Glock was in one hand and the clips in the other, while Lori stood by to open the gate. Lori had admitted quite a few times that she definitely wasn't her favorite person in the world, but the fact that she and Rick had managed to keep everyone alive and possibly find a place to recuperate left her giving the small woman a look that was somewhere between gratitude and disdain. It was the best Tea was going to get, though, as she kept a firm hold of her Glock in one hand and kept a tight grasp of the cable in the other. As soon as the gate was open, she was through it quickly running around the overturned prison bus and towards the gate at the fastest speed she could go. Shooting two walkers, she stopped momentarily as another dropped to the ground with a bolt through it's head. She managed to get three more paces before jumping back quickly as a bullet hit right above her toe. Carol had a sheepish look on her face that made Tea roll her eyes and scoff; that woman needed to work on her aim as much as her spine. Body checking a walker through the gate when she reached it, she quickly slamming the gate shut and secured it with the cables before turning on her heel and quickly getting into the tower she was next as a small group of walkers converged on her. By the time she had killed some in order to close the door and reached the top, the others were already working on killing all the remaining walkers in the yard. From where they were, it was easy pickings and Tea couldn't help but call out jovially as the last walker fell. She all but ran down the steps of the tower and back to the other gate as her family congregated together, running to Daryl and practically jumping into his arms in joy for the first time in forever.

"Nice shootin'," she told the group.

"You okay?" Carol asked Lori as she passed through the gates.

"I haven't felt this good in weeks," came the woman's reply.

Carol was beyond delighted at the amount of space there was in the field and even T-Dog had to take a minute to laugh and holler. Tea had them split into two groups before she and Daryl headed out, one group to pile up the walkers somewhere along the fence that would give the quick access when they started burning the bodies and a second group to get the cars closer to the prison just in case they needed to leave in a hurry. While she was certain there was no on inside the prison due to the fact that nobody came out while they were shooting, she wasn't willing to take the chance that something would go wrong and they weren't prepared. She and Daryl left to go hunting, snagging a half dozen squirrels and a big rabbit, Tea not letting Daryl kill a fox that had crossed their path. He'd gotten angry at her until she'd told him that foxes represented strategy and was a sign from the Fae that their situation was changing. Killing it might jinx whatever favor they had, making him scoff and start laughing at her when she looked at him 'like he killed her dog' for it. That had only made him laugh even harder until she pushed him in the same way a little kid would push a friend or crush when talking smack. He'd reached out and grabbed her after that, crashing her into his chest as he kissed her hard, the moments when she actually acted her age few and far in between and made him crave her all the more. It was starting to get dark, though, and they couldn't stay out for too long if the others were going to be able to eat.

By the time night had finally fallen, everyone was settling down and getting used to the idea that they could relax for the time being. Tea was standing on the overturned bus alternating from looking out on the road to smiling at her family who was actually looking content for once. Even though there really was no need for a guard, she and Rick were just double checking and making sure there were no breaks in the fence, no way for walkers to sneak up on them. She and Rick had already discussed entering and clearing out a cell block in the morning with hand-weapons instead of guns, not only to preserve ammo but also to mitigate noise as best they could. Daryl had taken watch the night before when they'd had to sleep out in the open which was why he was still back at camp instead of out here with her. Then again, she wasn't sure how much focus they would have on being on watch after the was Daryl had kissed her in the woods earlier. She couldn't help but take a deep breath and sigh it out, turning her face to the sky and sending thanks to the gods and praying for safe harbor for a long time. Tea had taken a few more deep breaths, concentrating on relaxing her body from constantly clenching various muscles, especially her jaw. It was honestly so relaxing that she got startled when she heard Carol's voice sound out from behind her, Tea jumping and immediately drawing one of her knives as she swung around.

"I thought you were supposed to be on watch, not sleeping," she called up.

"I thought ya learned ya lesson on sneakin' up on me when I threw ya on ya ass," Tea shot back, though she did bend down and off Carol her hand to help her climb up. "What brings ya out 'ere?"

"Thought I'd bring you some food. It's not a lot, but I don't bring you something, you won't eat at all," Carol told her while handing her a small tin bowl.

"I ate some a the gizzards afta we gutted 'em. Tried ta give Lori some ta keep 'er iron up, but she damn near puked. Phia likes 'em well enough."

"She seems to like anything you do," the older woman said hotly. "You're talking again, I see."

"I got dopamine and adrenaline galore thanks ta findin' this place. Makes it easia ta speak. We're alone, too, which also makes it easia. As ta Phia likin' what I like, well, what we have keepin' us connected is a parallel past."

"What is that supposed to mean? Parallel pasts?"

"Ya've seen my scars, haven' ya? Where the hell did ya think I got 'em from? Sure as hell couldn' a been an accident considarin' the placements. Phia got lucky this shite started, elsewise she'd a been as trapped as ya were and gotten ta be jus' like ya were."

"I wouldn't call starving lucky."

"She's alive and untouched. Considarin' what she went through in ya house, yeah, she's lucky."

Carol sighed and said nothing for a moment, "How'd you get your scars? I wanted to ask, but..."

"Ya didn' know how ta breach the subject since we're only on speakin' terms for Phia's sake?"

"Something like that."

"My parents hated me. Neva knew why, really. Don' care so much anymore," Tea shrugged. "They neva stopped showin' me how I was nothin' more than dog shite ta them. Smacked me up, cut me up, whipped me up. Only thing they didn' manage ta do was sexually assault me, not that they didn' try by proxy. It's jus' I've always been stronga than I look and, thankfully, I don' completely lose my senses when I'm drunk, or with 'em, forcefully drugged. The only reason I am alive taday is 'cause I fought tooth and nail ta be. That's why I don' care for ya, ta be honest. I don' care for how ya didn' protect 'er. I don' care for how ya treat 'er now that's she's gained some strength and fightin' skills. I don' care for how ya blame 'er for ya mistakes that ya only jus' now realize ya made 'cause ya seein' that someone else takin' the initiative ta be there for 'er. I ain' goin' ta say ya couldn' be a good parent if ya circumstances were different. There are plenty a parents that have gotten out and became the best parents in the world ta their kids, some ovaprotective, sure, but they got a reason ta be. Look at ya, though. Ya out. Ya finally free a that bastard, and yet ya still want ta be weak instead a gettin' stronga. Ya still lookin' at people ta protect ya when ya should be protectin' yaself and Phia. She's done more protectin' ya than ya did 'er."

"I don't need a lecture on how to raise my child," Carol told her harshly.

Tea took a deep breath and sighed out her nose before looking at Carol straight in the face, "The people who say they don' need lecturin' 'bout their children are the ones who need it the most. Ya don' want ta even try listenin' or talkin' when it comes ta gettin' betta ta the point ya won' even listen ta ya daughta. When I talked ta the two a ya tagetha, ya barely said anythin' 'bout what she asked ya, barely tried ta give reasons or answas. What's up with that?"

"You don't know what I went through."

"Only 'cause ya won' tell me and let me help ya as ya workin' through it."

"Why do even care about what I went through? It's not like it's gonna make us any more friendly towards each other."

"Maybe not, but it would make ya feel betta, and I've got the knowledge ya need ta deal with ya head, funny as it sounds. 'Sides, I'm tryin' ta help ya for Phia's sake. Ya her only parent and she needs ya. I said it once and I'll say it again, if ya don' step up, ya goin' ta lose ya kid."

"I've already lost her to you," Carol accused, giving Tea a shocked look when she laughed so hard she hunched over.

"Gods, Cars, ya really don' know a damn thing 'bout ya kid, do ya? She's spent days crying ova the winta 'cause she thinks 'er momma don' want 'er no more. I am not her parent, Cars. I'm not the one that's 'er momma. That's you, and it don' matta if she listens ta me more'n ya 'cause ya don' lead the group, me and Rick do. She don' need ya ta tell 'er what ta do, ya jus' got love her. Show 'er she's more'n a burden ta bare."

"She's never been-"

"Ya held 'er hand while ya arm was 'round Carl. Ya didn' even run when she was screamin' for ya when they found that walka! She had ta run straight ta camp ta find ya! Don' fuckin' tell me ya neva once fuckin' thought a that little girl as a burden!" Tea shot back while seething. "Hell, Sophia thinks ya think a her as a burden anymore! All she wants is 'er motha ta be there for 'er and where are ya?" Carol didn't answer, just looked back at the camp, pissing Tea off more than she already was and making her repeat even more harshly, "Where the fuck are ya for ya daughta, Carol?"

"I don't know," came the meek reply as Carol wiped a couple tears from her eyes. "She thinks I think she's a burden?"

"More'n that. She thinks ya've been thinkin' a her like that since the farm and ya cold shouldarin' 'er ain' makin' it any betta. Hell, that little girl is tryin' like hell ta get ya attention, bringin' ya ya food, stayin' right by ya when she's not doin' 'er duties or trainin', askin' ya if ya were warm all winta. And ya didn' say one fuckin' word 'bout it. When was the last time ya told 'er ya love 'er and meant it? 'Cause she doesn' think ya do anymore. Ya literally losin' ya daughta by ya own actions, Cars. If ya don' step up ya game, ya goin' ta lose 'er for good."

"What do I do? Can I fix this?"

"Hell yeah ya can. And ya will. Treat 'er right and be there as 'er momma for who she is now, not who she was. Don' keep hurtin' 'er by not listenin' ta both 'er spoken and unspoken needs. Learn 'er cues and what ya need ta do ta not be lectured by me when it comes ta her emotional and mental well-bein'. 'Cause ya hurt 'er again like ya done all winta, I'll be happy ta take that liddle girl as my own. If ya won' be the motha she wants and needs, then I'll be it. So get ya head on straight."

"Why do you care so much about the kids? I still don't understand," Carol told her, finally realizing why the young woman had been so adamant about talking before she lost her voice. "Why fight to help them so much?"

"'Cause someone was willin' ta help me," Tea stated plainly before sighing, and looking at Carol right in the eye. "I knew what Ed was doin' ta ya and I knew what 'e was tryin' ta do ta ya daughta. Give 'er a liddle bit a safety and protection and the girl opens up like a floodgate. Someone gave that ta me once, my Papa. He had nah reason ta take me in, nah reason ta care, ta teach me the basics a fightin', a healin', a shootin' and huntin'. He gave me a safe haven when I had ta run from my family jus' ta stay alive."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Carol interrupted when Tea paused for breath.

"They had a room in the basement they'd lock me up in for days on end. Longest I spent in there was a week, nah food, nah wata, otha than what I'd hidden there afta the first three times and they kept gettin' longa. They neva cleaned it, eitha, so the walls were stained. My fatha, he loved whips, 'cause 'e was raised with horses and knew how ta use 'em ta cut skin or leave welts. My sista, she liked ta think she was goin' ta be a docta, so my parents bought 'er an actual set a surgical blades so she could 'practice' on me. My motha would go between knives and whips, learnin' how ta use it from my fatha. And, like ya, I was expected ta face the world with a smile. Neva was able ta smile, but I was able ta function well 'nough that they could talk their way out a it thanks ta me havin' autism and ADHD. Everythin' that I couldn' do in public was chalked up ta that and everythin' else was chalked up ta how smart I was, at least ta othas. That's the story they told ta everyone in the gated community we lived in. The houses were far enough apart and sound proof enough ta where they couldn' hear their yellin'."

"No one tried to help you?"

"Someone otha than my papa did once, and they got 'im run out a town and his record struck black so's 'e can' eva work in the field again. No one stepped up again 'cause they didn' want ta piss of the old money family with the biggest plot a land and the most extravagant house in the entire town. Thing is, they hated me not sayin' anythin', not cryin' not makin' any noise when they were beatin' me or cuttin' me up. I was almost constantly silent, unable ta talk, unable ta even make any kind a noise. I completely disassociated from it all, constantly wondarin' why they loved my sista and hated me, when the next meal would be, when the next session would happen."

"If they did all that, how are you so strong now?"

"'Cause I got out, and I got help. I learned 'bout the way the brain works and how it works. Learned why they did what they did, even if I neva know why it was me specifically. Abuse tends ta perpetuate abuse. Children learn from an early age what is allowed and what is not, and a lot a the time, the more angry they become, the more they lash out, the more they become abusive themselves, first towards themselves, then their sibling and otha kids, their parents, anyone. A lot end up addicted ta somethin', whetha it be drugs or alcohol, in jail, or abusin' their own spouses and kids. Some end up keepin' their heads down, followin' anyone else's leads and neva knowin' how strong they really are 'til they're forced ta face it and finally grow," Tea told her, looking over towards the fire and Daryl's figure with a small smile.

"Very few make it through ta the otha side, but it takes a lot a therapy, understandin', intervention, support, and responsibility. Hell, I have a degree in psychology and I still went ta therapy 'til last year, and the only reason I quit goin' was 'cause I was workin' on my dissertation, which was related ta what I jus' said 'bout kids that come from abuse. And I'm pretty sure it's jus' 'cause a all that and how my mind works that I could break away so cleanly. I felt a lot a guilt for a long time and it was only afta I had ta finally shoot my fatha 'cause a what they were tryin' ta do that I decided it was bullshite ta feel guilty for livin' my best life and leavin' 'em all in a little box collectin' dust in the attic a my mind. I don' want Phia ta have ta have that box. I want ta erase it from existence for 'er, but I can' do it all by myself. Again, I ain' 'er momma. She needs ya love and support now more'n eva," Tea told her in her 'professional therapist' voice. "Let's get back ta camp. The othas are prolly waitin'."

"You didn't eat," Carol pointed out.

"Like I said, I already ate the gizzards. Take the meat ta the kids or Lori. They need it more."

"Daryl won't be happy you didn't eat properly again."

"I can make it up ta him lata when we got 'nough food ta feed everyone propaly."

They climbed down the bus and headed back to the camp in silence, Tea heading over to sit next to Daryl while Carol went over to Sophia and offered the food to her instead. Tea let out a surprised yelp due to Daryl poking her side only to have everyone look at her oddly and the man covering up a smile. The asshole had started doing that every time she turned food down and he always, always caught her by surprise and made her draw attention to herself. It was so embarrassing to draw everyone's eyes because Daryl thought it was a funny prank he could get away with since he wanted her to eat more but had learned the hard way not to force her. She told everyone to shut up before she went to lay down only for said asshole to pull her back towards him. Daryl laid her down using his thigh as a pillow and tossing his poncho over her like a blanket, playing with her hair while watching the fire dance.

They were safe, actually safe, somewhere they could stay for a good long while so long as they kept up with supplies. Tea could finally get some rest from constantly being on the move with no sense of direction which was all she needed and Daryl knew it; a place to set up a more permanent base. He couldn't help the small smile as he looked down to Tea's form as she turned on her side and put her arm around his back, falling asleep easily for the first time in days. Daryl watched as Rick kept walking the fence line, making sure it was intact even though he didn't need to. The man just wanted to make sure his wife and son were safe and Daryl could understand how he felt as he looked down at Tea's sleeping face. It was the first time since the farm that they hadn't had to worry about walkers disturbing them during the night meaning they all could sleep. He was enjoying the feeling of her hair slipping against his skin when Rick walked up and Hershel asked Beth to start singing; he missed the days Tea would sing to him and looking forward to hearing her again.

"Beautiful," Hershel commented after Beth started singing 'The Parting Glass' while Maggie joined in on the second verse.

"Better all turn in," Rick chimed in. "I'll take watch by the fence. We got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.

"Tea and I talked about it earlier after we found this place. I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. Tea thinks the supplies should be intact and I agree with her. Means there's a chance the infirmary and commissary haven't been touched."

"Think there'd be an armory?" Daryl asked.

"That'll be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a goldmine."

"We're dangerously low on ammo," Hershel commented. "We'd run out before we even made a dent."

"That's why Tea gave us all that knife and combat training. We have to go in there, hand to hand," Rick told them. "After all we've been through, we can handle it. We know it. These assholes don't stand a chance."

He stood up and walked off after that and Daryl did his best to ignore the whispered argument between Rick and Lori as he carefully switched his thigh out for one of their packs and laid the other one down beside her head. Lowering himself next to her, he rolled onto his back with his shoulder pressed against her side and was delighted when she rolled over, instinctually laid her head against his shoulder, one arm wrapping around his waist as she snuggled as close as she could with her other hand resting lightly in his at his side. Her leg wrapped around his thigh, bringing herself as close to him as possible. If there was one thing in this world he could count on, it was his little woman wrapping herself around him when she was sleeping and damn if that wasn't the comfort he needed to sleep himself.

~x~

"Ready," Hershel asked as the survivors got ready to clear the prison.

They were going in in circular formation compromised of three teams of two. Working as one unit, they would work in a circular fashion to clear the walkers while keeping each other's backs safe. As teams, they would protect their teammate and keep an eye out for them more than anyone else. Daryl and Tea, Glenn and Maggie, and Rick and T-Dog. It ensured that each person was covered at all times, but not too stressed by looking out for the whole unit and themselves when they were already stressed about the situation. T-Dog killed the closest walker while Daryl took out the next one as soon as Hershel pulled the gate open. Maggie and Glenn each took down the next ones while Tea threw a knife at one getting a little too close to them as they kept their backs to each other. They worked towards the next gate while Lori and the rest made noise at the one they went through in an attempt to draw what few walkers away from the main group.

T-Dog ran forward suddenly, causing Tea to growl, "Don' fuckin' break rank!"

"We need that!" was all he said as he grabbed a riot shield.

"Need ain' want, T!" she said as he used the shield to push a walker away. "Makes things easia, but need ain' want."

"Maggie! Maggie!" Rick yelled as she ran forward to kill it.

"Get back inta fuckin' formation! Get tight!" Tea yelled.

T-Dog and Maggie ran back to the group so that they could continue to make their way to the entrance to the cell block. Rick opened the door to check it before moving on towards the next gate they needed to close. He quickly slammed his back into the concrete next to the door for some reason Tea couldn't make out from her position at the back of the group. It had all been going smoothly until a bunch of officers in full riot gear showed up and made things more difficult for them. Tea was surprised her eyes didn't fall right out due to rolling them so hard when Daryl tried to fire a bolt through the visor of one of the guards. Is he even thinkin'? she asked herself as one of the guards came up behind her. If it hadn't been for Glenn yelling at her, she wouldn't have even known it was there until it had already had a hold of her, not that she was scared of being bit by a visored walker. She took a step back before push kicking the thing back, making it fall down and giving her a chance to put her buck knife through it's chin. There was no way in hell she wanted to pull the visor off and see the nastiness of the fused on skin tearing off which made her all the more happy when the thing stopped moving. Maggie seemed to have realized at the same time that they could kill the riot walkers that way and looked really proud of herself as she turned to the others fighting their own armored enemies.

"Did you see that?!" she said excitedly.

"Up through the chins!" Tea yelled to the others could know what she was talking about. "Up through the chins!"

Rick yelled for Daryl as he pushed the decked out guard he was fighting to the ground and quickly got to his feet to behead another. There were still quiet a few walkers the needed to take care of in the yard, though the ones furthest away were being taken out in quick succession. While Tea didn't excel in a lot of mundane tasks needed for basic upkeep and maintenance in the house, she more than compensated for that gap in her ability to fight. She had put her buck knife up and was seemingly dancing as she took one throwing knife out after another and then moved to the walker she took down with it to sweep down and grab the knife back up only to throw it a second later. While she dealt with the walkers coming from around the corner, Rick kicked a walker back behind a gate with an overrun courtyard as Daryl ran up to it and slammed it shut for Rick to lock closed. Maggie and the others finished off the rest of the walkers already in the courtyard as Tea walked around the corner after dealing with several walkers herself. They didn't find any more breaches in the structure so Glenn went to let the others only to be called back by Rick.

"Well, it looks secure," he said confused.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there," Daryl pointed. "And that's a civilian."

"So the interior could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison," T-Dog sighed.

"What if there's walls down? We can't rebuild this whole place," Glenn said.

"Nah, but we can find a way ta block off the parts that could get ova run," Tea told him. "Don' need ta rebuild if we can block off."

"Can't risk a blind spot," agreed Rick. "We have to push in."

The group followed after him cautiously up the caged staircase that led to the closest cell block before Daryl moved past him and waited for Rick and Tea to ready themselves before he opened the door. All the tension they had built up was for naught, however, as they found the entry empty while the three behind them slightly snickered. Rick again took up the lead as he, Tea, and Daryl moved carefully into the room so that they could surprise any threat that lingered only to be surprised by a completely empty block. They still worked as quietly as they could around the area while Rick checked the bird's nest only to find a dead guard along with a set of keys to the prison. He came back down the steps and motioned to her and Daryl to follow him, heading to the door to the cells and opening as quietly as he could. The three of them entered the room and looked around where they saw what was obviously spray patterns from someone shooting another person before dragging them out. They found three walkers locked in their cells on the second floor, though, quickly taking them out before tossing them down to the floor level. Daryl, T-Dog, Rick, and Tea started cleaning the walkers out of the cell block while Glenn and Maggie went to get the rest of their people to finally have a real shelter over their heads. Maggie and Carol were practically beaming joy as they entered with their things and spread out to check out the different cells. Tea found a cell to her liking and thought about how it would be the first place she and Daryl would get to be alone again. Even if it was still close to the others, and hopefully would be able to sleep touching each others skin in months and Tea felt like that was something they both desperately needed.

"What do you think?" Rick asked when everyone converged again.

"Home sweet home," Glenn said unenthusiastically.

"For the time being," Rick agreed.

"It's secure?" Carol asked.

"This cell block is," Rick answered.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.

"In the mornin', we'll do some more searchin'. Try ta find the cafeteria and infirmary, maybe get a lead on that armory," Tea told them.

"Do we sleep in the cells?" Beth asked, earning a nod from Tea.

"I found keys on some guards. Both Tea and Daryl have sets, too," Rick said.

"I ain't sleepin' in no cage," Daryl told him, making the smile forming on Tea's face to drop. "I'll take the perch.

For the most part, they clustered into the cells in the middle on both floors, but Tea took her stuff to the farthest cell away from everyone on the top block. She was upset that Daryl didn't seem to want to sleep next to her and yet she couldn't blame him when he had to be the one to initiate even the smallest of touches. It wasn't fair to him to put all of it on his head and while he didn't complain outwardly, it wasn't hard for her to see it in his face and eyes. Tea couldn't help but wonder if he really was planning on sleeping out there and if he would want to sleep alone or with her. She knew that he was probably expecting her to sleep with him on the floor of the perch, but she just did not want to pass up the opportunity for both of them to finally get a peaceful night's sleep without being plagued by nightmares or insomnia. She watched as he straightened his back while looking at her before he motioned for her to join him on the floor. Tea just shook her head and lifted her hand to gesture for him to go to her only for him to do the same and the two to go back and forth a few times before she rolled her eyes.

Daryl really didn't like the thought of sleeping in a cell and the fact that Tea was insisting he did was starting to make him angry. He'd never even seen the inside of a jail cell before, let alone a prison cell, and it was one of the things he actually prided himself on. She knew that and yet still wanted him to join her in a cell; he knew it was an entirely different circumstance, but still. He was growing angry at her when she rolled her eyes before coming over to him while his eyes narrowed at her. Tea had a look on her face that he had not seen in ages as she walked up to him and pressed her chest to his while looking up at him with lust filled eyes. Daryl couldn't stop the way his chest tightened and his breath hitched as she leaned in closer. He knew she was just running high on the excitement of the day but he didn't care as she reached up to give him a gentle kiss that had him following her. She'd been smart enough to grab a hold of his wrist when she walked up and he had no real power to resist her as she brought him fully into the cell.

"The hell you want to sleep in here for?" he asked her quietly.

"'Cause we can be alone," she told him as she pulled him over to the bed and pushed him to sit down on it. "And since we're alone, I can do this."

Tea slowly fell to her knees, watching Daryl watching her as she reached towards him to feel the outline of his hardening member. Both of their breaths were getting heavier by the time she made it to the fastenings of his pants and undid them when Daryl's eyes moved to the cell door rather than watched her. She didn't care for that as she brought his cock out of his pants and stroked it lazily a few times until his eyes moved back to hers. Staring into his eyes, she licked the bottom of his dick from base to tip before sucking on the head, her tongue flitting along the small slit there. His breathing hitched while he reached out to gently move her hair out of her face as she worked at him slowly and his eyes double checked the entry to the cell. They could be walked in on at any moment and that fact added a streak of excitement to everything that he was sure she could feel too by the way she stared at him. She took him as far down as she could before she began stroking what she couldn't fit in her mouth while sucking him down and slowly moving back up, her green orbs never leaving his blue eyes. Tea worked at him slowly until he was leaning back and bucking into her mouth and her jaw began hurting before she stood up and pulled her shirt off. Daryl quickly sat up and grabbed her hip, pulling her closer to the bed and licking a trail up her stomach until he reached her breasts, kissing it through her bra. He only did that for a moment before pulling it down under them to release the pale flesh and capture her nipple between his teeth.

When she couldn't handle the sensation anymore, Tea moved her torso out of his reach and undid her pants, stepping out of her boots to take them all the way off before straddling the man. Daryl took the chance to pull his own shirt over his head and kick off his boots, though he left his pants on so he wouldn't be entirely exposed to the others if they were interrupted. She didn't seem to care as her skin erupted in goosebumps when she reached out and touched his, the heat and feel of him leaving her dripping even before he entered her. He watched her, pupils blown and cheeks flushed, reaching down and rubbing his head against her slit and making her bite her lip. Her head fell to his shoulder when he slid inside her, both their breaths coming out in little huffs. She moved slowly against him, not wanting to alert the others of their activities but wishing she could feel the intensity he'd been giving her all winter. Tea didn't want this to be about her, though; if Daryl was all hard and fast for her then it was safe to assume he'd want the opposite from her if she was the one in control.

Daryl held her against them, both of their heads dropped to the other's shoulder, breathing heavily but quietly, as she slowly ground against him. He moved his head to start kissing her neck and her chest, sucking on the soft flesh at the top of her breasts before he wrapped his hand in her hair and brought her lips to his. They swallowed each other's sounds as she continued her slow gyration and drove them both damn near insane. Daryl picked her up enough to lay her down on the bed properly when they ran out of air while keeping one hand wrapped in her locks. He put his full weight on top of her, her breathing in his ear sending a sharp wave straight through his cock as he kept the slow pace she'd started with. The build up of sensations made it hard for him not to take over and start rutting her, but with the others only a couple yards away, there was no way they wouldn't be found out if he did. The thought of being caught had them both breathing heavily against each other's skin and in their ears and it only spurred them on more. Her fingers ran through his short locks as she matched his thrusts with her own while bringing his lips back to hers. The slow pace of their intimacy brought a new sensation with every touch, every thrust, their kiss building the intensity into a bubble ready to burst. Tea could feel her orgasm coming fast as much as Daryl could, her walls squeezing him tight as he ground into her just a little faster and harder.

"I love ya, D," he heard her whisper in his ear. "Ya and only ya."

He picked up his pace as much as he dared to without alerting the others after she told him that. Her hands in his hair and nails rubbing against his scalp pushed him closer and closer to the edge. Everything was clouded by the feeling of the other on their skin and the heat their bodies were giving off. There was nothing other than the sound of their breathing in that small space, making Daryl forget he was even in a cell. She was so wet that even as she tightened around him he was still able to slide right through. They held each other close and swallowed up any sound the other would make in a passionate kiss while they continued their slow pace against each other as the bubble burst and the waves of their orgasms washing over them. Daryl kissed her all over again as he stilled inside her and started to go soft, the two of them reveling in the feel of each other after a different type of intensity had taken root. He swallowed her moan as he pulled out all the way and moved them to lay on their sides on the small cot.

"Do ya mind sleepin' in a 'cage' now?" she asked groggily while snuggling up to him as much as she could.

"Guess a cell won't be so bad."

~x~

In the morning, Tea, Daryl, and T-Dog made good on the promise to look for the armory while the others started clearing out the courtyard of bodies. The building hadn't been too far away from the cell block but it did take them a while to find the right key, so much so that Tea offered to just pick the lock in frustration. T-Dog laughed at her until Daryl looked back at him and told him he'd never been on a run with her. It wasn't something that she was necessarily proud of, but she'd had to get out of more than one situation in which she was locked inside a room. The skill was acquired through years of trial and error until she finally got it right thanks to a 'friend' she had in high school who was really just using her for status. In all honesty, said friend had tried to use the fact that she knew how to lockpick to pin a crime they'd committed on her. She had been tutoring her sister in algebra at the time of the crime, though, and if her parents hadn't admitted that she had been at home the whole evening with her sister, she would have gone to jail for sure. The only reason they even did that was so her sister would look like a good sister who adamantly pleaded her younger sister's innocence when she was wrongfully accused. Her family used the possibility of her going to juvie for several years thanks to grand larceny as an excuse to showcase their "affection" for their youngest child. Daryl knew the full story but simply backed her up when she told him that she wanted to be a spy when she was a kid and learned how to pick locks because of it.

When they finally managed unlock the armory, they were met with a couple more walkers in right gear that they easily took care of. They were rather disappointed at what they found inside since there were no guns or ammo and only a spattering of anti-riot weapons. Tea wasn't sure if they were even worth taking back to the cell block, but both T-Dog and Daryl began loading it all into bags. She went along with it until she and Daryl stopped to look at what T-Dog was doing, the sight making Tea hunch over and puke. Seeing the skin being peeled off one walker in riot gear when they first took them out was bad enough, seeing the innards spilling out with the skin being peeled off was too much. The smell didn't help, either, as she was double over and it caught in her nose, making her retch all over again. And the man didn't stop at doing it to one; no, he was determined to get all the riot gear. When he got to the second one and began unfastening it, she hid behind Daryl but still couldn't help but heave when she heard the results of his work.

"Nope," she said, giving up on being outside with him doing that. "Nope. Nope. I'm nopin' the fuck out a here. Good luck with ya nastiness, boys!"

"Oh sure, leave us to do the dirty work," T-Dog joked, making Tea turn around to say something to him only to dry heave again as he took another vest off.

"Gods, can' ya at least wait for me ta go 'fore ya do that? Please? The sound, the smell, the sight...it's too much. And there's nothin' left for me ta puke up, so please, for the love a the gods, don' make me look back while ya doin' that shite," Tea begged, meaning every word of it and seriously scared he was going to do it again.

"Alright, that's enough," Daryl told the other man while walking over to Tea. "You okay, baby girl?"

"That was fuckin' disgustin'."

"You've seen worse."

"Nah, I've seen movies with worse. Movies. That shite was a real life, in ya face, in ya nose, stinkin' up ya hair, kind a real life. There's a difference. One's staged and the otha..." she trailed off as she visibly shuddered in disgust.

"Come on," he told her, pulling her under his arm and kissing her hair, even though she was still a little stiff and caused him to frown.

They got inside and started laying the things they'd found in the armory on a table as T-Dog came in with the riot gear in hand. Tea couldn't help but make a face at the sight of them before she had to look down to keep from retching again. It wasn't a lot that they'd been able to grab, but when they put it all together on the table, it certainly looked like a lot more than the spattering they'd found in the other building. Then again, anything that was spaced out in several spots in a large building would look bigger when put on one small table. There had been a few batons, though, and Tea had made sure to get them to teach the kids the basics of how to use one in case they ever came up against someone else. Whether it was a walker or a human, the use of batons that was taught at the academy would still be a skill that they could use to maintain their safety. Daryl walked around her and put his hand on her hip as he did before giving her a kiss on the temple since she seemed to be going right back to how it had been before they'd gotten to the prison. While they were looking at the table and all the equipment and weapons on it, Tea realized that this was the first large haul of weapons they'd been able to find.

"Not bad," Daryl commented, his hand still on Tea's hip.

"Flashbangs, CS Triple-chasers," Rick told them. "Not sure how they'll work on walkers but we'll take 'em."

"Ain' jus' walkas we gotta worry 'bout anyway," Tea gave him.

"I ain't wearing this shit," Daryl said as he held up one of the helmets from the riot gear and decomposing liquids leaked out of it, looking just as disgusted as Tea did.

"Seconded," she said as she tried to breath steadily to keep from throwing up again.

"We could boil them," T-Dog suggested while holding up another dripping piece; Tea did puke that time even though there was little that came out.

"Ain't enough firewood in the whole forest. No," Daryl said as if it were the obvious. "Besides, we got this far without 'em, right?" he asked the man while trying out the swing of a baton, making Tea laugh.

"Ain' a bat, ya silly goose! It's for blockin', strickin', jabbin', or bashin' skulls, but not like a damn bat!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know?"

"Watch more movies," she stated plainly before smacking herself in the forehead after remembering there were no movies anymore. "Sorry, love," she smiled up at him, placing a hand on his arm.

Everyone around them were just smiling at the exchange, happy to see things had gone back to how they had been before winter had really hit and Tea could only write things down. Even if they had tried to hide it from the others at first, they'd had the little exchanges like that at the farm and it had always made everyone around them smile. They had just been cute little things Tea would call Daryl out on, like trying to give her a second gun or when she'd had a thick winter jacket on and he'd tried to cover her up with a blanket. It was refreshing to see the two acting like that again, though none of them knew what had happened last night to bring Tea back to being able to talk again, even if she was still actively avoiding being touched.

Carol came out of the cell she was sharing with Lori called Hershel over while the rest got ready to go on the mission to push into the prison when Rick asked if everything was alright. The woman assured him it was as Hershel went in only return a couple minutes later and asked if Tea would help him with this one. Lori was having a bit of a mental breakdown due to not feeling the baby move and he felt it would be best if Tea try to help. He might be a doctor now, but his degree was primarily veterinary, not human, and he certainly didn't have any knowledge of the mind. Hershel respected Tea's ability to calm situations down as well as assess it and the fact that she always seemed to be helping everyone with their problems. It was natural to him to ask her to help Lori even if the two women seemed to be at odds. Tea readily agreed to help but also warned him that Lori hadn't wanted to talk to her all winter and she doubted the woman would be so willing to let her. She couldn't say no to the old man when he asked her to just try, so she sighed before heading to the cell.

"Hey," she called out.

"What do you want?" Lori said incredulously.

"Hershel said ya were havin' some problems with the stress a havin' a baby durin' the end a the world," she said nonchalantly.

"Why do you even care?"

"I really don' care. But it's 'cause I couldn' really care less 'bout ya issues that makes me the perfect one ta help ya. I honestly don' care 'bout what problems ya havin', 'specially since we all know what's goin' on. But that don' mean I can' help when I can ta get ya through 'em so ya can get back ta keepin' on keepin' on," Tea told her with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm an open ear and a deep well if ya wanna tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help ease it, maybe jus' gettin' it off ya chest is enough. Eitha way, speak ya mind."

Lori looked at Tea as if she was trying to figure out what kind of game she was playing considering what she'd done to Shane. She had spent the entire winter avoiding the young woman as best as she could to the point where the only time they interacted was to eat or when Tea forced her to learn more about knives. It wasn't like the knowledge wasn't useful to have, but the fact of the matter was the things Tea was teaching her what she'd already taught to Carl made Lori's skin crawl. How she was able to so easily talk to Carl and find out what was going on with him made her jealous of the bond they had when her bond with her boy had been broken. Tea always seemed to be able to get both the kids to step in line rather than stray better than their mothers did and it was simply because she talked to them. Lori sat on the edge of the bed rocking as the tears started welling in her eyes because she really couldn't handle the thoughts in her head.

She took the chance to accept Tea's offer and told her fearfully, "If we're all infected, then so is the baby. So what if it's stillborn? What if it's dead inside me right now? What if it rips me apart?"

"Okay, first statement; the baby might be infected. Did ya eva think it might be immune? Babies can become immune ta viruses and pathogens in utero due ta the motha havin' been exposed to said thing. Kinda like gettin' the flu shot while pregnant protects the baby against the flu when it's a newborn, ya know?" Lori's tears had started falling down her face as she nodded her head. "Second, it ain' stillborn. Ya sayin' at nine months or so ya not feelin' braxton hick's or movement? Ya 'bout ta pop, Lori! I may a neva been pregnant, but even I know the closa ya get, the less they move. And ya said ya had a c-section with Carl. Ya might not get braxton hicks at all. It happens. Ya gonna be fine. The baby'll be fine. Ya gotta try ta relax and stop stressin' 'bout the negatives and look at the logic."

"Ok, so say it lives and I die during childbirth," Lori said. "Is that logical enough for you?"

"As logical a fear as it was 'fore the apocalypse. It's the unfortunate truth a procreation; we risk death ta give our men young," Tea told the woman truthfully. "But at least ya know ya got a damn strong and damn tight group that won' eva let nothin' happen ta ya kids. Ain' the most comfortin' thought, I know, but it's all I really got for ya for that fear. As far as I know, that's somethin' every expectant motha thinks 'bout. So that fear is the most natural thing in the world."

"If that happens, if I die, what if I come back and attack it? Or Rick? Or Carl?" she asked.

"I won' let that happen. I won' let ya. I won' let anyone turn. Not if I can help it," Tea told her seriously. "I promise ya, if ya do die, if ya baby," she took a deep breath, mentally struggling to finish her promise. "If the baby dies, I won' hesitate. I'll do what I gotta, like always do. I won' let harm come ta the group."

Lori just nodded her head while smiling sadly, "It might have been better..."

"What?"

"It might have been better," Lori started again, "if I had never made it off the farm."

"I've thought that too, a lot actually," Tea admitted, looking down. "But then I rememba I'm exhausted, I'm scared, I'm mentally drained. It's easia ta think those bad thoughts when ya mind is weary and ya body taxed."

"Yeah, that's true," Lori said. "My son can't stand me. And Rick, God Rick, after what I put him through, put you through."

"I can' help ya with Carl. I've tried, I really have. He's jus' so angry that ya betrayed Rick like that, and then how ya treated us for a while afta. Nothin' anyone says is goin' ta get through ta him right now. And I'm sorry for that. And Rick, he took that first betrayal in stride. Doin' 'is best ta forgive and forget, and 'e feels like ya did it all ova again with how ya reacted afta ya found out what I did ta Shane and 'e took my side. The whole damn situation has taken it's toll on all a us, but I can' say I blame ya. Jus' 'cause ya love Rick don' mean ya didn' love Shane, too."

"He hates me," Lori admitted. "He's too good a man to say it, but I know. I put him and Shane at odds, I put that knife in your hands."

"Ya think that baby cares 'bout that? Or that that man will once that baby gets here? Neitha a ya are perfect, Lori, but that baby will make things right, or at least as right as it's goin' ta get," Tea told her before giving her a nod and leaving.

There was nothing left for her to say that could comfort the woman, and it wasn't like they had really bonded enough for her to feel responsible to sit there and wipe her tears. She had simply been there for Lori like she had all winter. It was easier to form a bond with the children due to what had happened than it was to the mothers who allowed those things to happen. She wasn't necessarily cold-shouldering the mothers so much as keeping them at arms length for Carl and Sophia's sake. Tea did what she could to help the mothers get stronger, though, as much as she could. Neither one of them had been extremely receptive and it took both Rick and Daryl's pressuring for Carol to start learning how to shoot after they managed to find two boxes of rounds over the coldest part of winter when the walkers couldn't move as well. She still hadn't quite gotten the hang of handling the kick-back of the rifle, thus the reason she'd almost shot Tea and the only reason Tea knew it had been an accident. At least Carol had stopped trying to get between her and Daryl during the winter due to Sophia's insistence and how often the three of them were around each other. To be fair, though, Carol had stepped up after the storage units and become more cordial to Tea after she'd pushed herself to the brink trying to cover everyone else's shifts. It was hard to look past a leader that was willing to put themselves in harms way or take a hit to their health to make things easier on the others.

"What do you think you're doin'?" Rick asked Carl as he tried to put a riot gear headpiece on.

"I'm going too," he said confidently.

"Me too!" Sophia stepped up and offered.

"Hell nah ya ain'," Tea said seriously watching as both faces fell. "I got a more important job for ya. And yeah, it means stayin' behind, but we get cut off, we don' make it back, ya have ta be the last man standin' and keep our girls safe, got it? That goes double for ya, Phia. Two a ya are the only warrias not goin', so ya got ta be keepin' a watch ova the othas."

She watched as the determination crept back into their faces as Sophia nodded her head and Carl looked at the others, telling her, "Sure."

"Great," Rick said, walking over and handing his son his keys, "Let's go."

Daryl led the convoy out cell block and into the dark depths of the prison. They moved cautiously, finding corpses in various states of decomposition. Some had clearly been shot in the head while others were torn apart and/or missing limbs. As they turned down one corridor, Glenn spray painted the wall with an error that would lead them back to the cell block. When he finished, he accidentally bumped into an unaware Maggie, causing her to shriek and the two of them to softly apologize for scaring the rest after they heard the clink of one of Tea's knives hit the ground due to messing up her throw at there being no actual threat. It was pretty damn dark down here and as soon as Maggie had shrieked Tea had whirled around ready to throw one of her weapons only to realize it had been a simple case of the heebie jeebies. She had gotten so far as to start the throw only to immediately release the knife before she began the downward throw so that she wouldn't hit anyone just for being afraid. Truth be told, she hated being in this place as much as Maggie seemed to with how dark and dank it was. Her chest was already constricting at the thought that anything might come around the corner at any time and the would barely have a moment's notice to move.

Tea took point with her knives out and ready for use while Daryl moved right behind her and Rick next to him while Glenn painted another arrow when they passed another corner. The tension was palpable as nothing had happened so far, and that had Tea on edge because the less trouble now, the more they would get later. It was the lack of walkers and the amount of dead and decaying bodies, some torn apart, others simply shot in the head, that really had her worrying as they moved in the dark. Her fear became reality as walkers came around a corner and Rick frantically called to the others so head back to the cell blocks, leading them out of depths. Tea had waited for Rick and Daryl to move past her to start running herself, not wanting to get knocked over in the confusion, when she saw Glenn and Maggie running a different direction. She ran after them and tried to get them back to the group, but when she was about to round the corner to get back to the cell block, she shrieked herself, turning around and pushing the two around as she tried to get in control of herself. Walkers swarmed around the corner just after she got them moving, Glenn pushing Maggie ahead of him while at the same time grabbing onto Tea's forearm. They rushed down the empty corridor only to be cut off again as they went to round another corner. Tea was near hyperventilating by the time Glenn spotted a door to what had to have been a utility closet or something and pushed her inside after telling Maggie to get in. He slammed the door shut while Tea tried her hardest to melt into the wall as they had been thrown into complete darkness.

They waited in the small closet until the walkers had passed, Glenn going to open the door only for Tea to pull him back and whispered to wait a few more minutes just in case. Glenn opened the door and exited to find that the others were no where to be seen. Maggie whisper-yelled for her father while the three silently moved along the corridor with their weapons at the ready. They heard someone else call out for them and began heading towards the direction before screaming echoed through the halls. Tea rounded a corner just before Maggie and Glenn only to find Hershel on the ground with a walker taking a chunk out of Hershel's leg. Her knife went through it's head at the same time as Rick's bullet, both having fired at the same time. Maggie started crying as soon as she rounded the corner, causing Tea to internally wince at the sound at the same time as her ears hurt from the sound of the gun going off in the narrow passage.

"We gotta go!" she said as Glenn and Rick helped Hershel to his feet.

She could already hear the snarls getting closer as Rick and T-Dog grabbed Hershel and started running down the hall trying to find anywhere that they could treat the man's leg and hopefully wait out the walkers. Tea had her machete out along with Daryl's bow as they tried to curb the flow of walkers coming at them from behind. Their work didn't help at all as they got cut off by another group of walker from the front. Everyone was forced down only one hallway where the walkers converged to come down it, Tea and Daryl slashing away at any walker that got close to them. Glenn shouted about there being a door at the end and cutting them off again as they reached it to find it locked. T-Dog made quick work of the chain using his crowbar to bust the door open as the survivors piled into the unknown room. As soon as Tea entered the room, Daryl and T-Dog pressed their backs flat against the doors to hold them against the dead while Tea pressed hers right against the bottom of the door beneath the handles to give more support right at the weakest point. It helped to keep the doors closed until T-Dog could slide his poker through the handles allowing her and Daryl to head over to where Hershel was lying in agony on the floor. The bite was clear as day on his calf when Tea saw it, knowing that she couldn't help in that moment and wishing she could as Rick frantically pulled off his belt.

"Hold him down," he told them.

Daryl, Glenn, and Tea held him down as best as they could as Rick used his belt as a tourniquet before he began to quickly cut his leg off below the knee with his hatchet. He and Tea were sprayed with blood with every swing, Rick eventually looking like he was about to puke as much as Tea did when he brought the hatchet down one more time until it was clean off. Glenn handed Rick a towel as Daryl watched Tea pull her shirt off and try to swallow the saliva pooling in her mouth from wanting to puke. They had to stop the blood flow if there was any chance of the man living to see another day which made Tea tighten the tourniquet even more in an attempt to at least slow it down some more. It only helped a little as the pool of blood grew around their knees and Tea caught sight of something in the corner of her eye. Daryl had to have seen it too since he told Rick to duck and the two of them stood at the same time, Daryl with his bow and Tea with her gun trained on the gated window to what looked to be a kitchen.

"Holy shit," one of them said, raising Tea's hackles; there were survivors in the prison.