Before

The first night after the farm fell, when they'd all found each other again was one of the worst of her life. She was sitting with her daddy and Maggie around a small fire, too exhausted to move but too scared to risk sleep. They were out in the open, totally exposed save for a few crumbling stone walls, and they'd lost…

They were so lost.

Now

The shoreline was absolutely stunning, frozen in time like no one had ever touched it before. It was so different from the other beaches she'd been to, both before and after. There were always some remnants of people, either their remains or the lives they lived before the end. Here though, was nothing but nature, pure and clean. The way the earth had always intended it to be.

She scanned the scene again before turning back towards the boat she'd leaped out of. The Grimes were unloading themselves and their packs, while Dane also climbed out, tossing her bag in her direction. It landed at her feet with a plop and she raised an eyebrow at his apathy as he stepped forward with another duffel. "Your weapons, as promised, along with a long range radio. Only use it when you're ready for pickup."

She nodded and took the bag, only to have Rick approach and extend his hand for it. "Any time limits?"

It was a good question, and she again felt completely unprepared for what she'd gotten herself into. She thought she had trampled the impulsiveness out of herself over the years but one mention of the man from her past and it was gone with the tide. He gave them a two month window, as apparently the ship had nowhere else to be before wishing them luck and pushing the dory off of the sand and jumping in.

The pair only watched him drift away for a second before looking at each other. Well. She glanced at the beach again before looking at the other half of their group. The mother and daughter were examining the view as she had done a few minutes ago. "Let's unpack this one," she said to him, motioning at the pack he held, "and move inland. We have about four or five hours of daylight left to find shelter for the night."

He nodded his head and set the bag down to unzip it, and turned his head to give a small whistle to catch the attention of his wife and child. Before they made it over to where she stood and he crouched over the bag he spoke in a low voice to her. "We're going to have to have a conversation before we go much further with this." She met his eyes and gave a slight nod, knowing that it was probably overdue.

He distributed the various weapons in the bag to their rightful owners before checking the radio, and slinging the nearly empty bag across his chest. At the time the ship's captain disarmed her, she had only her long hunting knife and a handgun. She was definitely going to need to figure something else out.

Rick stood and then they were off, making their way from the edge of the sea to the fields ahead. They didn't get much further than the first few hills before they came across the remains of a battle, much different from the one nearly a century before. Walker bodies covered the ground heading inland, at least 50 of them strewn out in varying degrees of decomposition. "These walkers weren't put down all that long ago. Someone's been through here," Michonne offered, reaching behind her to place a hand on her katana. "Maybe a week ago."

The Councilor had to agree–the corpses had 'fresher' second deaths and the track in the mud around them hadn't yet been washed away. She turned her head to look in both directions, still seeing nothing to cause concern. "Could still be around. Judith," she carefully said as to not set off anything inside herself at the name. "How confident are you with that sword?"

The young girl looked at her, surprised to have been addressed. Beth had spent so much time avoiding the girl's stare that she was startled to finally get one back. ""I–Yes. Mom trained me."

The blonde nodded. Despite her own hesitance to bring a child on this mission she had to believe that the parents would bring her unprepared. "Good," she said, turning to Rick. "I think she should carry the radio." The other three members of the party looked at her questionably and she answered before one of them asked. "If she gets separated she'll at least have a way of getting ahold of the ship."

Recognition crossed over both parents' faces as they came to agree. If something happened to the rest of them, if they never found Daryl or Carol, at least Judith would have a chance of getting home. Rick nodded and turned his back to his wife so that she could take the device out of one pack and put it in their daughter's. Task completed, they silently agreed to keep moving and walked on.

The eventually came to the end of the beach where a roadway laid, and decided to follow it south. It didn't take long for those relics of past civilizations to appear, though it was still diminished from what they'd see back home. Instead of wall-to-wall buildings, there were just a few here and there, spread out enough to not take away from the scenery. It was a risk following the roadways but they didn't have long to find shelter or supplies.

Michonne's knowledge of the language helped them steer clear of the larger areas, as she read signs posted along the route to guide them. Their walk was quiet, lacking in conversation as they were hesitant to be heard in case something or someone was lurking nearby, but they only crossed a few walkers who were quickly put down.

They started to lose the light as they came upon a small town called Goville, and figured that this was as good a place as any.

Rick took the lead as they cautiously walked through the streets to the center of the village. It seemed as if it had been frozen in time. Nothing alive or dead came to greet them as Rick pointed to a two-story home and silently indicated that that was where they should hole up for the night. With no disagreements, the group moved to clear the building.

Michonne brought up the rear with her daughter just to the front of her, as her husband took point, leaving the Councilor to knock on the doorframe and pull the handle. They were once again met with silence, though they stood at the ready as the door swung inwards into darkness. She followed in after Rick, and the pair quickly cleared the long-empty home.

She waited in the front room as he called the rest of his family inside, and thought of how they'd fortify the windows for the night as they piled couple worked to move a hutch in front of the door before the woman faced her, clearly already having a speech planned and patience long passed from their hours-long trek.

"I'm just trying to understand, Councilor ," she drawled, starting softly but not staying that way for long. "You spent a decade in hiding, you kept Rick away from his family for years, but now all of a sudden Daryl needs help and you're chomping at the bit to sail across the world for him. Make it make sense." her eyes were fierce and if this had been 10 years ago she would've crumbled beneath her gaze.

But this wasn't then, and she wasn't who she used to be. She sighed, "I already told you. He was the only person who didn't give up on me…"

"But you did give up on him, didn't you? All those years you could have been with us. With him. But you chose not to. Instead," she challenged, "you chose to hide in the shadows and play games with our family's lives. How do you expect me to believe you won't do the same again?"

The question had her cutting her eyes over to Judith who stared back at her wide-eyed. The girl looked more uncertain of her than ever and Beth tried to hold back the stab of pain that it caused. She looked back to her mother, who hadn't missed the glance, and frowned at her even more. "You don't have to believe me, but I'm not a danger to any of you. I never was, I just…had a different way of doing things."

"What changed?" the young girl asked.

She considered for a moment before telling her the truth. "Everyone I trusted betrayed me, again. I need better allies."

"And you think that's us?" Rick questioned. "After what you've done?"

She shook her head and gave a little smile. "No, I'm too far gone," she admitted. "But when they've finished with this," she said lifting her arm, "whoever finally figures it out. They're going to need people like you to make sure it gets to everyone. Not just the ones who can pay for it." She let that settle before driving her point home. "You're the one who told us that we're all infected, Rick. You should be the one to cure everyone too."