Newly Revised
"You hear about the new outpost?" a woman asked.
"Oh, the one makin' bullets?" a man responded.
"Yeah, that new guy, Eugene," the woman told him. "He's gonna be setting it up. You hear Randy's heading there?"
"Oh man, them's tough breaks for the kid. Remember when we got sent to set up the chemical plant?" an older gentleman asked.
"Wasn't Alden sent there a couple months ago?" someone who sounded young asked.
"Yeah, with Jerry and Marcus. They were trying to build the fences or something last I heard."
"Man, I miss that dude's singin' voice," the older man cut in.
"All the cool dudes get sent to the outposts and the assholes stay with the big man," the woman said.
"Hey, talkin' like that's fightin' words right now," the first man told her.
"Am I wrong?" she asked with a bit of sass in her tone.
"No, but say that around any of the others and you'd be in trouble. Boss man still thinks we got a traitor in our group. Don't want him thinkin' it's you," the man said nonchalantly. "'Sides that, we catch a whiff of those Alexandria rats and we'll be flyin' high."
"This is Negan,"the man's crackled voice came over walkie. "Put an APB out for the little spy-girl. She's probably on her way to the Hilltop, same as the rest of 'em. You find her, you bring her back here. She is to remain unharmed! I repeat—You bring me Sophia with so much as a hair on her head out of place from when you found her or so help me I will demote your ass to the bottom of the fuckin' barrel. No games here, people. Get this kid found. Get her people found. And when you find her people, bring Ani straight to Carson. She's havin' problems with her baby, so knock her ass out if you have to to get her here. Look alive, assholes! Get these people found!"
"Great, another box on the to-do list."
"Hey, that Ani girl was pretty bad-ass. Didn't realize she was carryin'. Did you watch that fight?"
"Man, it was nuts. I thought watching Negan with the bat was bad enough, but seeing someone beat in a skull with their fists?! That was psycho, man!" the younger one proclaimed.
"It was definitely somethin' else."
"Where do you think we should head next?" the second man asked.
"Well, Jackie and Lisa's group are checkin' this area. Mark's coverin' this quadrant and Reid is over here. We've got all the roads covered. Honestly, I say pack it up and go home," the woman said.
"Go home empty handed?"
"Could make a few pit stops," the younger voice suggested. "Check in this area. There's a small camping place I used to go to with my friends. Got a few cabins that might've been used. Could find some more people, could find some meds?"
"Could find a whole lotta nothin'," the first man's voice sounded.
"Well, it's either we go back, sit on our hands, head over here, or," the woman said with a pause, "we check here."
"The swamps?!" the younger person exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that," the first man.
"I thought you youngsters were supposed to be brave?" the gentleman asked.
"Bein' brave and bein' dead go hand in hand," the first man said.
"Well, what? You wanna go back and tell Negan we knew where to check but didn't?"
"But, I mean, come on! The swamps? We don't even have the place scoped out! There's no tellin' how many biters there are since we've never once checked that area! Negan told us to leave it alone!"
"If you don't wanna go, fine. Don't," the woman told the young one.
"And get my ass handed to me when we go back? Uh-uh. No way. I'm not getting the iron! But I don't wanna walk into what Negan called a death pit, either!"
"Well, them's the breaks, kid," the older man said. "Time to put your big boy panties on and get off your ass. The sooner we get the swamps cleared, the sooner we can go home and get a proper fucking meal."
A chorus of cheers to that statement sounded before Sophia listened to the moving out, waiting in the hollow of the tree until there were no sounds whatsoever except those of the woods. Her legs were cramped and her shoulder was sore as all hell from be crouched where she sat, huddled as close to herself as possible on the forest floor. She'd been stuck in that position for at least an hour after the Saviors had come around a second time. Sophia had barely managed to sneak past the group the first time she'd been trying to pass through the area, swearing up and down she was going to kill Simon. Sure, she was close to the Hilltop, but every single time she went to make her way towards it, she was forced to go around in order to avoid a group of patrolling Saviors. The twenty minute hike due north Simon had told her had turned into a two hour go-around-and-hide spree that she didn't have enough time to keep doing. Wiggling out of her little hidey-hole, Sophia decided that the best way to go forward was by to press on no matter what. She pulled out two of her throwing knives from the set of five that Ani had given her after asking Hilltops' blacksmith if he could make them and held them firm in her hand. Sophia readied her pack over her shoulder and prepared to strike first and ask questions later if she came across anyone she didn't recognize. Something was wrong with Ani and the baby and she had gotten lost in the woods after the explosion that knocked her head and made it to where Simon had gotten a hold of her.
She'd had the time to really sit and think about what had happened, and while it was still fuzzy in some places, she did remember that she'd left Alexandria of her own will after she woke up. She'd forgotten her bow, which was an annoyance and a half considering she wouldn't have had so many problems with the walkers that seemed to swarm her, let alone the Saviors who now knew she was out here on her own, if she had it. And even then, if it hadn't have been for Simon, she would have probably ended up dead before she found the Hilltop on her own with how hard she'd hit her head. She had a giant knot on her forehead from hitting the car while her front had several bruises from that same impact and she had a decent size burn on her shoulder from the explosion that she'd been caught in. According to Simon, she'd probably been hit by a burning piece of log and been unconscious for a moment or two before moving it off of her; he'd pulled a few splinters out of her shoulder before dressing it. Both her shoulders held scars now, between what had happened at the prison and being shot by the Governor's men and now the burn. She supposed she should be thankful that she didn't have the displeasure of being shot twice, like Carl; a burn would heal with minimal damage to the muscle, seeing as hers was mostly superficial. If she'd been shot again, both her shoulders would be tight rather than just the one and that would make it difficult to use the bow, though Merle said the tightness would fade after a while. Finally making her way through the trees to the point that she could see the top of the Hilltop's walls, Sophia was a second away from crying in relief when she was grabbed from behind.
"Well, well," a man said, "look what we have here. Now, what'd I say about stickin' close to Hilltop?"
"Yeah, yeah, Roger, you were right. 'Easier to catch a mouse if you sit and wait instead of give chase' like everyone else did. Good job on using logic," a second man said sarcastically, walking in front of Sophia as she readied herself to attack even in the first man's arms.
Taking a deep breath in, Sophia breathed it slowly out through her mouth before stomping squarely on the insole of the man who had a hold of her. As soon as he let go, she used the force of the stomp to plant her left leg and whip around, bringing her knee straight forward before kicking out and straight into the sternum of the second man. Putting her right leg down after completing her spin, she used the momentum she had gained to push herself up into a jumping knee strike to the face of the first man, bringing her hands around his neck and interlocking her fingers to push his face even further into the strike. While it hurt her knee, the sickening sound of bone crunching sounded out as she let go while the man crumpled into a heap, his nose broken and hopefully a concussion. Turning back around, she was met with a smack to the face that sent her reeling a couple steps, but did little more than imbalance her. Before the man could strike again, she threw one of her knives straight into his chest, whipping around to throw the next one into his eye before grabbing her hunting knife from her hip and plunging it into the temple of the man who had first grabbed her even as she cried out in pain from her ankle twisting a bit too far.
While Ani had taught her several Judo holds to use against people similar to her size, she'd taught Sophia and Beth how to use Maui Thai as their prime weapons of both defense and offense when it came to fighting. It was the only martial arts that she'd known would always give them, the smaller beings, the leg up when faced with opponents who were bigger. If they were fast enough and strong enough to take down an opponent before the opponent could get a hold of them, they didn't need to worry about actually being stronger than the enemy. If the men at her feet had reacted any faster, if she had been any slower, if her ankle had given out any sooner...Sophia grabbed her knives breathing heavily before she ran towards the gate as fast as she could while favoring her throbbing joint. She didn't want to think about the 'shoulda, woulda, coulda's' that Ani told her could drown a person if they dwelled on them too long. She didn't want to feel guilty because it had been better to kill those men and get away than lead them to the others or somehow be used against them. The Hilltop was right in her view and she knew most of the Saviors' patrols were gone thanks the little exchange between the two men. Making it to the wall, she quickly realized that she had to go all the way around in order to alert the others of her presence. While the windows up top were a great vantage point, the people of Hilltop rarely had people actually in them to keep watch on the areas behind the outer wall.
She was limping badly by the time she reached the corner and tears were forming in her eyes as she walked. The tears turned into full on sobs as Carol came running around the side of the Hilltop's wall and straight towards her, Jerry, the King, Shiva, Henry, Enid, and Maggie trailing behind. Sophia didn't even bother to keep walking, sinking to her knees before they reached her and wrapping her arms around herself. Daryl and Ani weren't among those coming for her, which meant that they hadn't managed to escape the Saviors yet. When Carol's arms wrapped around her, she didn't even think about her reaction as her arms tightened around Carol's neck. Her mom was finally there for her when she needed her to be and it made her cry even harder in the woman's arms. Sophia could finally admit to herself that she missed her mother in a way that she hadn't wanted to notice before, but Ani was right; she still wanted her mom. She wanted both of them, Ani and her mom, to be there for her right at that moment, when she realized just how scared she had been with the men. Out of the two of them, though, she felt safer with Ani and wished she was there to make her feel like that right now while also hoping she was safe herself.
"Let's get her inside," Maggie said. "Have you seen the others?"
"No," Sophia cried.
"Why are you alone?" Carol asked, pulling away from her daughter. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know," she admitted, pointing out her various injuries. "I...I was caught in an explosion and I hit my head. M-my shoulder got burned. S-Simon..."
A collective gasp was heard from the group as Carol quickly helped Sophia to her feet before Ezekiel simply scooped her up as Maggie said, "Hurry. If he's around, he could kill someone else. It's people from his outposts we're keepin' prisoner."
"No, he-" Sophia attempted before she got cut off.
"We need the doctors to look at her. Make sure she's not been...mistreated," Carol said, thinking about everything that could have happened.
"HE SAVED ME!" Sophia shouted above the chorus of agreement to Carol's statement, stopping all chatter and movement in one go, angry that her mother would even suggest she'd let something like that happen when she knew how to fight. "I was bein' chased by walkers and he saved me from 'em when I wasn't able to fight back because my shoulder and my head. He's the one that got me closer to the Hilltop. But the Saviors were tryin' to catch the others!" she cried. "An-and there were...there were a couple waitin' in the woods. If I hadn't killed 'em..."
"You killed men?" Carol asked appalled as they began moving again.
"I did what I had to," she defended harshly. "I hadn't killed 'em, they would've killed me, or worse. The Saviors, they knew I wasn't with the others."
"How?"
"I don't know," Sophia admitted before gasping. "We need to keep an eye out for the others! Somethin's wrong with Ani!"
"What?" Maggie asked.
"I don't know. I heard it on one of their walkies while I was hidin' in a tree. She was fine the last time I saw her, but that was last night."
"How'd you get away from Simon?" Maggie asked.
"I didn't," she stated plainly. "He saved me. I told you. He took me to an apartment that's between here and the Kingdom. He lived there with his sister and niece. He's not happy with Negan or how Negan's doin' things right now. He wants to give Ani's way a try because you remind him of his sister, or that's the gist of it at least," Sophia told Maggie.
"Are you serious?"
"I'm just sayin' what he said."
"Let's get you checked out," Carol said flatly while leading the way to the medical trailer. "How did you end up by yourself?"
"Carl and I took over the evacuation of Alexandria," Sophia stated.
"Where was Rick? Daryl? Michonne? Where was Ani?" Carol accused.
"Michy said it was Carl's show. Carl asked for my help. Rick didn't make it home and Ani was starting to have a panic attack. Daryl was making sure it looked like the others got away with Abraham."
"And what about Merle? Sasha? Literally anyone but two thirteen year olds!"
"We did what we had to do! Same as you! Or isn't that why you came back finally?" Sophia shot at Carol as the woman opened the door to the medical trailer.
"Don't take that tone with me, young lady."
"Then don't blame others for doin' what they needed to!"
"There were people in Alexandria who should have been in charge of something like evacuation," Carol chastised. "Not two thirteen year olds who-"
"Were trained by an ex-member of the military and a woman who single-handedly took on the Governor and Terminus...and won," Sophia countered before Carol could fully make her claim while Ezekiel sat her down on a bed and the doctor came over. "Carl and I knew what we were doin'. I don't need your permission, anyway. Ani and Daryl believed in me."
"They're going to get you killed," Carol countered in a harsh tone, shaking her head before looking back to Sophia. "What were you thinking? Why didn't you wait and hide with the others? With Ani?"
"What? Like you taught me to?" Sophia shot back. "What good did hidin' from dad ever do us, huh? What good did hidin' from the walkers do? Yeah, I hid against the Saviors because I knew I couldn't take that many, but it wasn't 'cause I was scared! It was 'cause I was smart! You don't hide just because your scared, mom! You hide because it's the smart thing to do! It wasn't smart hiding from dad and it wasn't smart hiding in the sewers when our people needed me above! Fightin'! Doin' what I was trained to do!"
"Carol," Ezekiel cut in as the woman opened her mouth, "this is not the time. The child is injured and needs treatment. Some rest and food would do her well and the others will be needing us. Go check on Morgan for me. Henry has yet to leave his side and I fear he may be questioning his actions from last night."
"I need to stay-"
"Carol! That was not a request," Ezekiel said, giving her a knowing and sad smile to which she made a sour face before leaving. "You should be nicer to your mother, child."
"She should be nicer to me," Sophia countered petulantly, crossing her arms. "Who is she to you anyway?"
"She is..." Ezekiel said before looking off into space and sighing. "She's a light in what has been a seemingly endless tunnel. She saved my people by leading them to safety. Fought against the Saviors and delivered the Kingdom from their clutches. She saved me."
"And before she did all that, she abandoned me. She wouldn't have been able to do any of it if she hadn't, but somehow that's okay because she was hurtin'. Even Ani says I need to try to understand! I don't want to! And I shouldn't have to!" Sophia said before talking to the doctor about her injuries.
After the doctor had concluded her assessment and began treating Sophia's burn, Ezekiel turned to her, "It is the honorable thing; to try to understand those who hurt you and why. It is also by far the hardest thing to do. She told me about you, you know."
"Oh? And what'd she tell you? That she loves me? That she cares about me? That I mean somethin' to her?" Sophia goaded, whatever relief she'd felt at being found gone now that her mother had decided to chastise her, again, for being more than just a kid. "Did she tell you that she abandoned me? Not once, not twice, but three times!"
Ezekiel looked at her sadly, realizing that this child was much like Henry had been with him after his father had died. It had been his own fault that Darren had died at the hands of the dead and Henry did not take his death lightly. He had been his best friend before the turn, a brother from another mother they used to always joke. So when the man had agreed to go on a mission for the King and so many of his fighters had died, it had taken Benjamin stepping up for Henry to forgive him. Sophia blamed Carol for the mistakes she had made and what it had taken from the child much like Henry had blamed him for the loss of his own father. It had taken half a year to get the child to speak to him normally again, another few months before their relationship had been repaired completely. Ezekiel had a feeling, though, that Sophia would not be so easily won over with how her mother had reacted to the world. The difference, however, was that Darren had died, not left Henry and Benjamin to themselves as Carol had her own daughter. He had seen it, too, how Carol had treated Henry in a similar fashion that she had just treated the child in front of him. She was a kind and caring woman to his boy and she was very protective of him, as protective as she appeared to be to her daughter. Ezekiel hoped that he could mend the bridge between mother and child in an attempt to reunite them as a family again, something he wished he could do for Henry.
"Would it surprise you to learn that she told me everything?" he asked her.
"I doubt that. Did she tell you about how I got lost in the woods and she didn't even look for me?"
"She told me how you came back stronger than she had ever been, and it scared her."
"How about that she took in two little girls while pushing me off on others?"
"That you were connecting with others who made you stronger, taught you how to thrive where she failed, and that she felt it was better for you."
"What about how she would've killed Ani just for bein' sick?! What about how she ran away to your colony and left ours without one of our best fighters?! How she always, always, just leaves because all she thinks about is herself?!" Sophia yelled, standing from the bed with hot tears falling down her face.
"She did, indeed," Ezekiel smiled at her, turning to lean on the gurney beside where Sophia was sitting back down. "You know, she thinks of you as her daughter, but knows you are no longer hers. It takes a certain kind of strength for one to admit their mistakes and admit they must now live with the consequences of their actions. Your mother is one of the strongest people I know. But she has had to endure many hardships to gain that strength."
"Who's fault is it she's been through so much, though?! Not mine!" Sophia pouted with folded arms. "But I'm the one always gettin' punished! I'm the one that gets screwed! Not her! I'm angry she's always leaving me but then wants to turn around and blame me for bein' stronger! She didn't even look for me in the woods, but blamed me and Ani for how I stepped up and killed walkers that would have killed Ani! And now she's blaming me for fightin' again when she wasn't even there! How is that fair?!"
"You have valid reasons for your anger," Ezekiel deigned while nodding his head, getting a better idea as to why the child was so vicious towards her own mother. "I would be angered, too, if the person I thought would always be there for me were to suddenly disappear from my side. Especially if I felt like their anger towards my actions were misplaced. But did you know that fear can often times be concealed in anger?"
"Have you talked to Ani?"
"Why, yes," he chuckled, "though not recently. Has she said something similar?"
"When she told me what she knew of my mom. Explained everything. She said that," Sophia said quietly, looking at her hands now folded in her lap.
"She is rather wise for her age, isn't she?"
"She's been through a lot, too," Sophia explained. "More than my mom has, and she still looks after me."
"Ah, but Miss Ani is quite special, now isn't she? Her mind is a work of art, as I've heard it. Able to process information and come up with a feasible plan of action within minutes of a problem being posed. An abundance of knowledge in the martial arts and herbalism. An impulse to come to the aid of others. Do you believe others possess those kinds of gifts?"
"The martial arts and herbalism isn't a gift," Sophia explained. "They're special interests. Ani learned everything about herbs that she could from her papa because it was a connection she could actually understand. And martial arts, I'm not sure how to explain it. According to her, the mental and physical aspects just called to her and helped her get through a lot of tough times when she was first on her own. But they're not gifts. She worked hard to learn it all and to become as good as she is."
"But talent and dedication are gifts," Ezekiel countered, earning a shrug in response. "I will talk to your mother. I agree with you that she was overly critical and harsh of your admirable feats. But do try to remember that you are not alone in your anger, nor in your hurt. Your mother feels these things as well. Guilt for not helping you more. Guilt for not being the strong influence you needed. Guilt for being angry that you learned how to be stronger than her. She is angered by her own actions and saddened by the knowledge that you do not want to live with her any longer because of how her choices hurt you. But she is also still afraid of losing you or seeing you hurt as you are now."
"Then why doesn't she just say it?"
"Some things are easier said than done. Would you believe her if she did?" Ezekiel asked her with a knowing smirk, making Sophia hang her head in shame. "Time will heal all wounds, Miss Sophia."
"Maybe."
~x~
"This works, it don't change shit," Daryl told Dwight as the man walked beside him, leading the people through the woods towards the swamps.
"Everything I did, it was for Sherry," Dwight told him plainly. "That doesn't make it right. Or somethin' that needs to be forgiven but it's the truth. The only one I got left. She's the one that let you out. Then she ran."
"She's out here?" Daryl asked, knowing that he owed the woman his life.
"Somewhere, I hope. She let Ani out too, didn't she?"
"Naw, Ania can pick locks. Stayed because she didn't know where I was. Just coincidence we bumped into each other," Daryl told him as they reached the bog of the swampland, holding a hand up to make the others stop as he looked out at the water, Tara standing close by doing the same.
The gargled sound of a walker was cut short by his bolt as Sasha, Beth, and Abraham walked up to him, Abraham commenting, "Gonna be hairier than a donkey's ass, but we can manage."
"It's gonna be rough getting the stretcher through, too," Sasha mused.
"So we push through," Daryl told them. "Clear a path for the others."
"Count me in," Scott said, pulling out his knife and taking a few steps towards the water.
"I'll go," Dwight offered. "If I can have the crossbow-"
"Fuck nah!" Ani yelled from where she'd been put down at the same time as Daryl answered, "You can't. You'll stay right there."
"Are you gonna help too?" Beth asked Tara, who stood glaring at Dwight.
"No, I'm gonna hang back. Keep an eye on Ani and the group," she answered.
"Come on," Daryl called. "Let's get this done."
"Tara," Ani called out as Carl came and sat down next to her with Judith while Michonne, Scott, Siddiq, Abraham, Sasha, and Beth started wading into the water.
"What?"
"Don' be stupid, stupid."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tara responded in the most ingenuine way possible while turning her head back towards Dwight.
"Uh-huh, and I don' wish I was in that wata right now," Ani countered sarcastically before looking out at the water as Beth took down a walker that rose from beneath. "Oh, fuck this shite right ta the fuckin' inna circle a hell where it belongs! I know damn well ya weren' kiddin', Tara, but I'll take back my statement. I'm happy here."
"What's wrong?" Carl asked.
"Do ya see the same shite I'm seein', Carl?!" she asked, her voice hitched an octave.
"The walkers in the water?"
"They ain' jus' in the wata! They're unda wata murkia than a damn mud slide!" Ani said. "Fuck, where's D?"
"He's fine. Siddiq's with him from the looks of it," Carl told her, leaving Judith sitting next to her as he stood up and looked out at the water for both Daryl and Michonne, catching sight of the both of them in different areas. "Kinda looks like they're all heading towards the same area. Maybe they found a way through?"
"I hope so," Ani said as Catty ran back through the woods with a groundhog in her mouth. "Sick a bein' carried 'round like some prized pony."
"For what it's worth, I'm happy you're back here with us," Carl said with a small smile.
"Ain' shite I can do right now for ya ta be happy, 'bout. Walkas come, I'm useless."
"You just let us handle it," Tara scolded as a small group of walkers started to shamble closer. "Who wants to help me take care of that?" she asked, pulling out her knife and tossing it at Dwight's feet. "Congratulations. You just volunteered."
"Tara," Ani said warningly.
"What? We're just taking care of the walkers, right?" she asked the man.
"We got this," he agreed, bending down to pick up the knife before leading the way.
"Great," Ani scoffed. "Jus' fuckin' great. Carl, do me a fava?"
"What?"
"Go keep an eye on Tara. I don' trust Dwight not ta try nothin' and I don't trust Tara not to be stupid."
"Sure," he said, getting up. "You okay with Judith?"
"Ya know I love my little Judy-girl!"
Fifteen minutes later, Carl and Tara came back by themselves, Ani looking between the two as her face grew darker. She could guess well enough from the looks on their own faces that something had gone wrong and Dwight had escaped. Cursing under her breath, she handed Judith off to Tobin before she stood up, Carl immediately coming to help her. The pain in her back flared back to life and she felt tight in her lower abdomen, but she was too pissed at the moment to care. Tara had made it to where the man who had killed her best friend, Tara's girlfriend, could get away right when they needed to keep an eye on him. If he went back to the Sanctuary and told them where their group was heading or even where they currently were, they were screwed. She was so righteously pissed off she didn't care about whether or not Daryl got pissed at her for standing up. There was no way she would be staying on the cot when their best chance at getting caught had just gotten away because Tara couldn't wait to get her revenge just a little while longer.
"You shouldn't be standing yet!" Carl chastised.
"And she shouldn' a been stupid! I told ya!" Ani yelled, rounding on Tara. "I told ya, 'Don' be stupid, stupid!' Ya knew exactly what I meant, and ya were stupid anyway! Dammit Tara!"
"It's not like you didn't want to do the same thing! For what he did to Denise, to Daryl?! You wanted him dead, too!"
"But he ain' dead, now, is 'e?! He's gone!"
"He lead Saviors away," Carl told her. "It's no different from what I did with Negan!"
"It's all the difference!" Ani screamed, before wincing and grabbing her back before putting a hand on her stomach just as the others came back.
"The hell you doin' standin' up?!" Daryl growled out at her as he took long, forceful strides to get to her, helping her back to the cot.
"Ask Stupid what she did!" was her reply as she gestured to Tara.
"What did you do?" Daryl accused before looking around. "Where is he? Where is he?!"
"He's gone," Tara said simply. "I messed up."
Daryl stood up and got right into Tara's face as he shouted at her, "I told you to wait!" Pacing in his anger and unable to control his voice as Siddiq knelt beside Ani and checked her again, he rounded on Tara again, "For all we know, he could be tellin' 'em everything! Negan could be on his way here right now!"
"He isn't," Tara claimed. "He won't. He led them away! They were coming right for us and he saved us!"
"And that jus' sweeps everythin' that asshole did unda the rug, does it?" Ani seethed, wanting nothing more than to go punch the woman but knowing it would get them no where. "Makes all that cock-suckin' mothafucka jus' disappear, huh?"
"He did lead the Saviors away," Carl informed them. "Lied right to them and suggested a different route we could've gone."
"I don't give a damn what he did," Daryl growled out as he began pacing again. "He can stick with them, he can come back—hell, he can run! When I find that son of a bitch, I'm gonna-" Ani followed the line of sight past her to where Tobin was holding onto Judith, doing his best to cover her ears from Daryl's tirade and causing them both to sober from their anger immediately. "Come on," he said,.
He bent down and grabbed a corner of Ani's cot as she laid down and Abraham, Scott, and Siddiq took corners themselves before they started moving again. The sun was high overhead when they finally approached the gates of the Hilltop. Michonne watched as the members of their original group flocked to the opening. Enid ran up to hug Carl as he carried Judith through the gates. Carol ran to where Daryl, Sasha, Abraham, and Siddiq were putting the carrier down, though she wasn't where their eyes were fixated. As soon as the stretcher was down, she was up, using Daryl's shoulder to steady herself before she took off running, Carl hot on her heels. She didn't care that her back was hurting, didn't care that she'd been told not to exert herself, she didn't care about anything at all. All that took over her mind was that her honey-haired little girl was standing at the medical trailer with Ezekiel, a fresh bandage on her head and her arm in a sling. Ani and Carl surrounded Sophia with their arms, all three crying tears of joy as Daryl caught up. As soon as they released, he had Ani in his arms, carrying her into the medical tent.
"Shouldn't of run," he commented as Ani looked over his shoulder.
"Totally should a," she rebuttaled, nodding her head and making him look back as well.
While Ani had let go of Sophia, Carl was still holding on and more than that, the thirteen year old boy had a hand on one of Sophia's cheeks, his other arm around her waist. Abraham was hooting and hollering as several of the other people from Alexandria either smiled or laughed at what they were watching. When he pulled away from Sophia, the look on her face and the red that smeared both their cheeks as they realized the circus of onlookers behind them were cheering made everyone around them laugh. Ani guessed that the girl going missing and then seeing her standing there had made Carl realize what his real feelings were. He'd been dancing around Sophia for a while as she waited for him to decide whether he liked her or Enid. Ani was beyond happy for her girl and couldn't help the smile on her face as she kissed Daryl gently and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Well, that's one way to make yourself clear, kid!" Abraham said as he clapped Carl on the back. "Just walk up and give give 'er a smooch!"