A nice fun chapter for you guys. I like to build character development before hitting key events. One was being Andrea shooting Daryl, so another checkpoint hit.

Disclaimer I don't own The Walking Dead just my ocs and plotlines.

Richie's POV

He sees Connor putting a little weight on his leg before hissing.

"Hey, take it easy." He urges him to sit down and he huffs.

"I'm fed up of sitting in this bed. I need to leave the room." He moans and that's when he realised he didn't know the story.

He looks at Connor's leg, wrapped up in a lot of bandages and gauze that it doesn't even look like a leg. "What happened?"

He sighs. "I stepped in a bear trap. Daryl and Jeremy saved my life. Luckily we had someone who had hunting experience there, otherwise I would have died."

Holy shit. He was lucky that it didn't bite through the bone, or he would've lost a leg. "You're lucky to be here."

"I know." He mutters. Clearly that conversation had been had for a while. And he was clearly tired of hearing it.

"It's badass." Richie points out and Connor beams at him.

"Really?"

Richie nods his head. "Oh yeah. Totally."

He was glad that he could get through to the boy, and actually make him feel better rather than being glad that he's still here.

That's when Maya, Connor's younger sister walks in. She was 10 years old, so young. Richie felt sorry for all of the kids in the apocalypse, they're one day gonna get used to the world, that they'll actually forget it. And even with Josie, a pregnant woman that he met, her daughter will never know the old world, just this messed up one.

"Can I learn how to shoot?" She asks her brother who chokes on his water.

Richie's eyes widened at the thought but understood.

Callie's POV

Her wet hair was stuck to her back, she needed a proper shower, she smelled of a rotten corpse. Which she technically was after putting all of its insides on her.

"Callie."

She jumped and turned to see Carol, standing there, twiddling her thumbs.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" She asked the mother. Only she knew what she felt like, having a child missing. She couldn't even begin to wonder how Carol felt.

"I'm okay, thank you. Did you find anything?" She asks her and Callie sighs deeply.

"No." That wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I'm so sorry, Carol. We'll find her tomorrow." She assures the woman who left quickly, and she hears a sob escape the woman before a door shuts quickly.

Awkward was an understatement. This dinner was painful to get through, and Callie couldn't wait to run out of the house.

One one table there was Rick, Lori, Shane, Dale, Hershel, Patricia, Andrea, and Josie. While on the other was the youngsters, or the kids table. You could hear the knives scraping across the plate with how awkward this dinner was.

"Does anybody know how to play a guitar?" Glenn asks and Callie smiled at him. Thank God someone was trying to make conversation. But it stays silent. "Dale found a cool one. Somebody's got to know how to play."

"Otis did." Patricia mutters sadly and Glenn winces painfully and looks at Tabby for help. She shrugs and smirks against her glass, clearly enjoying Glenn's pain. Amy looks like she wants to run out of the house, but also looking at Jeremy. Wait- what?

"Yes, and he was very good too."

Callie licks her lips and looks at Jeremy. "You know how to play, don't you, Jer?"

Jeremy looked like a deer in headlights and Glenn whirls around to him.

"You know how to play a guitar?"

Jeremy glares at Callie before nodding his head. "Yeah, I can teach you." Glenn smiles at him before he does an awkward move which she notes. No. Way.

Amy beams. "You can teach me too. I've always wanted to learn."

Callie grins at Jeremy and he narrows his eyes at her. Score. They can hang out together now.

Callie was thankful that dinner was over, she was helping Beth, Maggie and Noa putting all the dishes away, which was quite a lot. But she did see Amy and Jeremy walk out together talking about a guitar, but she was surprised to not see Glenn with them. He quickly left as soon as dinner finished, but she didn't blame him. She notices Josie watching her.

"You okay?" She asks the woman who snaps out of whatever trance she was in.

She smiles. "Yeah. That dinner was awkward. Wasn't it?"

Noa snorts. "Thankfully it wasn't just me then."

Callie grins at her and spots Maggie sneak out. But she pretends that she doesn't see her.

"So how long has Amy and Jeremy been speaking?" Josie asks Callie and she shrugs.

"Probably not long. They fit."

Beth smiles. "They do! They could be a cute couple."

Callie peaks out to the porch and sees Jeremy playing the guitar and Amy watching him play. They'll be a cute couple. They're good for each other.

Jeremy's POV

He stopped thrumming the guitar strings and looks up to see Amy staring at him intently, her eyes glossy, her rosy cheeks glistening in the light of the porch.

"That was beautiful." She compliments and he looks down, covering up his blush. Why is this girl messing with his feelings like this? He's acting like he's a school boy, not that he'd know what that'll be like since he has never been to a public school.

"Thanks." He hands her the guitar. "Your turn."

She looks panicked for a second. "What?"

He laughs. "You wanted to learn. I'll teach you now."

"Really?" She squeals and he nods, a smile plastered on his face.

She adjusts to the weight of the guitar, moving her hips that Jeremy had to walk away. Yes, he did have a crush on her to begin with, but the 25 year old was childish, wearing white and other colors, now she was wearing blacks and denim, colors that wouldn't easily get destroyed. She thrummed the guitar but it made a squeak and he winced.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry-"

Jeremy chuckles at her antics. "It's fine. I was the same when I first started. Can I?" He gestures to the seat next to her and she nods her head, but he notices a blush.

He sits next to her, and goes to grab her arms but raises his brows. "Can I...?" He trails off, and her voice hitches before she nods. Her teeth biting her lip. He grabs her arms and guides her hands to thrum a tune. He didn't know what, but it was soothing, calm. But all he could hear was his heart pumping blood.

They were playing a melody he never heard before, it must have been something Amy heard.

They stopped playing and he looked at her, and noticed tears in her eyes.

"It was mine and Aubrey's favourite song. Whenever Andrea bailed on my birthday, Aubrey always managed to make it. She felt more like a sister to me. She always played this song on my birthday." Amy fonds over the memory and he didn't realise until that moment, he was holding her hand.

He cleared his throat before moving his hands away and putting a little distance between them, which the door opened and Andrea walks out of the house.

"Everything okay?" She asks looking between them suspiciously.

Jeremy clears his throat. "Yeah. Teaching her how to play a guitar."

Amy nods her head. "He's a very good teacher." She keeps it as short as possible, clearly still not fully made up but at least they were at the talking stage.

Andrea accepts the answer before walking off. But Jeremy realised he was officially screwed.

Callie's POV

It was the next day, another day of searching for Sophia. There was herself, Rick and Shane going over a map.

She notices Glenn carrying a basket full of fruit. But acting really skittish.

"Hey, peach man!" Shane shouts and Glenn hurries over.

That was when she noticed the creek, it was flowing downstream. "Hey, look. The creek flows south." She points out to the two men. "Last the farm house that me and Daryl found."

"Oh shit yeah." Shane comments.

Rick smiles. "Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there..." he pauses and points at the spot, then drags his finger down. "the current brought it downstream..."

"To where Daryl found it." Callie finishes off.

Shane pulls a face. "So what, you think she took this road here." He points to a road. "And then she went north?"

"Yeah. What's up that way?" Rick asks Callie, who only shrugs.

"It's a housing development." Jeremy answers and they turn to him. Callie looks at Glenn who was handing them fruit. He looked like he wanted to say something or just visibly sick. Or both. "It went in maybe 10 years ago."

Rick nods his head and looks at Shane. "Take a run up there after gun practice. Me and Callie will hold down the fort here, but take backup. After what went down with Daryl, I don't want anyone going out alone, we stay in pairs."

"I'll take suggestions on a partner. See how they do on the range, then take your pick."

"Thanks."

"They'll be ready then." Callie smiles and Shane nods in agreement.

She was very wary of him, one day he'll be fine, accepting of her and Rick's word, but then the next he is hotheaded and fighting everyone.

"My binoculars." Shane demands, a mouth full of peach.

And there it is.

That kicks Glenn into action and he hands it over. "Yeah- yeah." He stands there for a second. "Okay, bye."

Rick and Shane made eye contact and laugh. Callie was grinning and Jeremy looks very confused.

"What the hell just happened?" Jeremy asks and they laugh harder.

That's when she notices Beth, Noa and Patricia approach them.

"We'd like to join you for gun training today." Beth says, her body language was shy.

Rick purses his lips. "Hershel's been very clear. I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay."

"He doesn't like it, but he consented it." Noa explains to them.

"Otis was the only one who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn to protect ourselves." Patricia adds on and Rick looks hesitant.

"No offense, but I'll ask Hershel myself." Rick finally sets on and they take the answer.

"Thank you." Noa tells him before they walk off.

"More of them keep on going behind Hershel's back." Rick mutters and Shane hums.

"Maybe there's a reason for that. He seems delusional." Shane points out and Callie narrows her eyes at him.

He was right, but the man isn't delusional. They relied on Otis for so long, now he's gone, they're looking for a means of protection.

Rick practically moans in frustration. Clearly Shane was getting on his last nerve. "It's his land, his say. We're guests. We can't call him delusional. He opened his home to us." He praises the man.

"Maybe you're right. But, he has his views on life. No carrying guns, his farm, his say. It's pretty simple to follow." Callie sticks up for the old man.

Shane huffs and stomps away. Jeremy rolls his eyes at him.

"He acts like a child one minute, then an adult the next. He gives me whiplash."

Callie nods in agreement and Rick sighs.

"He's his own worst enemy."

Josie's POV

She is currently hovering over Connor, who was using a crutch to support his one side. But it was a huge improvement to Hershel. He was expecting him to be bed ridden for another week, not on one crutch and walking. He said he was grateful to have another chance.

Glenn grins at him, putting down his basket of peaches.

"Hey! Up and at them already. You're gonna look badass with the scar." Glenn reminds the kid, clearly to make him feel better.

"Really?"

Tabby claps. "Yeah, Con! You're gonna take me on in a race soon."

Connor laughs, and Josie smiles at her son, rubbing her stomach. Her stress is non existent at this point, seeing that her son is walking again. But she'll always be stressed.

The new members of the group grabbed a chair for Connor and allowed him to sit down.

"This stinks. I want to walk again." Connor moans and Daisy laughs at him.

"Baby steps, bud." Damien calms him and hands him a pop tart. He couldn't believe that he managed to find some before and Connor happily grabs it from him.

"I bet you're relieved." Harriett points out to Josie who nods.

"You have no idea."

That's when Lori strides towards the group, well, to herself.

"We need you. It's about Maya." She says and Josie nods her head.

"I'll be right back, baby." She tells him and looks at Damien.

"We'll look after him." He reassures her and she smiles gratefully before following Lori to the RV, where Rick, Shane, Dale, and to the side was Maya and Carl.

"What's going on?" She demands, when it comes to her children, she'll do anything for them.

"Maya made Carl steal a gun." Lori explains in an accusatory tone which Josie raised a brow at.

She glanced at her daughter who looked very confused, and Carl looked guilty. "What if it was your son? My daughter will not steal a gun."

Lori scoffs and Rick had his eyes closed in frustration.

"How the hell did this happen?" Lori snaps, clearly not aimed at anyone as she holsters the gun.

"Well, it's my fault. I let him into the RV." Dale confesses to both herself, Lori and Rick. Shane was looking down, he maybe the one that found out they had the gun. "He said he wanted a walkie, that you sent him for one."

Lori clenches her jaw. "So on top of everything else, he lied. What's he thinking?" She mutters under her breath.

"He wants to learn how to shoot. They both do. They asked me to teach them." Shane explains to the group, mainly towards Lori and herself. "Now, it's none of my business, but I'm happy to do it. It's your call."

Josie nods her head. "Yeah, I agree. They need to know how to protect themselves."

"I'm not comfortable with it." Lori hisses out. And she noticed Rick's silence and his look towards her. "Oh don't make me out to be the unreasonable one here, Rick?"

"I know, I have my concerns too, but-

"There's no but. He was just shot. He's just back on his feet and he wants a gun. Clearly Maya was in his head."

Josie was about to snap before Rick held a hand up to her.

"Better than him being afraid of them. As for Maya, maybe she was an influence because maybe she doesn't feel safe. Maybe they both don't feel safe anymore. But there are guns in this camp for a reason. They both should learn how to handle them safely." Rick explains and Josie smiles at him.

She couldn't believe that Lori was hesitant to give Carl a gun. It was bad enough that certain amount of people could use one, thanks to Shane's old rules back at the Quarry. Now, thanks to Callie's input, there's a training camp. But she thinks it was due to what happened that night. She wanted her kids to know how to protect themselves in case she dies at some point.

"I don't want my kid walking around with a gun." Lori looks at Josie. "You can do what you want, but it's not a right decision."

"How can you say that? I'm thinking of the future whether I don't survive myself and my kids will be able to protect themselves."

Rick points at Josie. "She's right." He was stern towards his wife. "How can you defend that? You can't let him go around without protection."

Lori pulls a face. "He's as safe as he'll ever be right here. Look, everything you're saying makes perfect sense. It feels wrong." At that everyone was looking at her like she was insane. "I mean I didn't feel good about him following you out into the woods. And I wish I'd said something. I should've gone with my gut."

"He's growing up, thank god. We've got to start treating him more like an adult."

"Then he needs to act like one." Lori snaps and Josie sees Carl look up at that. "He's not mature enough to handle a gun."

Carl walks up to his mother. Maya ran up to Josie and she hugs her. "I'm not gonna play with it, mom. It's not a toy. I'm sorry I disappointed you, but I want to look for Sophia. Both of us do." He gestures to Maya before looking back at his mother. "And we want to defend our camp. We can't do that without a gun."

"I want to protect my mom and my brother." Maya adds and Josie kissed the top of her head.

Rick looks at Lori. "Shane's the best instructor I know. I've seen him teach kids younger than Carl and Maya."

Josie looks at her daughter. "I want you to apologise to Dale for lying to him."

She nods her head and walks up to the man. "I'm sorry, Dale."

"That's ok, young lady. As long as you're safe, that's what matters." Dale smiles at her and she nods her head.

Lori grabs her son's chin. "You will take this seriously and you will behave responsibly. And if I hear from anyone in this camp that you're not living up to our expectations."

"He won't let you down." Rick sticks up for Carl, assuring his wife that he's mature enough to handle a gun.

"Yeah." Carl agrees, looking his mother in the eye to show how serious he was.

Callie's POV

It was a hard day already, the group was getting ready to do gun training, which in her opinion was about damn time. Shane's old rules almost got them all killed at the Quarry. Now everyone will learn how to shoot and be able to protect themselves just in case.

"Hey." Rick greets her and she smiles at him. "You coming to the gun training today?"

Callie shakes her head. "No. Me and Jeremy are heading out to look in the surrounding areas for Sophia."

"Make sure you be safe." Rick tells her. The unspoken rules that they set for the group flow between the silence.

"Is Carl going?" She asks him, changing the subject.

He snorts. "Yeah. He took a gun this morning. Him and Maya."

She laughs. "Really?" He nods his head laughing. "I bet Lori loved that."

"Yeah. It took a bit of convincing to let Carl go. Josie was fine with Maya going." Rick tells her.

Callie hums. Josie wanted her to teach them how to use swords. But that was for Connor rather than Maya since she didn't have the strength yet. "Kids. I've never experienced younger siblings but I imagine it's the same."

Rick laughs. "Yeah, it's similar. I have a younger brother, Jeffrey. He went to Europe before everything." A younger brother? She notes. That wasn't in the file. That guy looking for information must have missed out on a lot. All she had was a birth certificate and the log book for the hospital of the day she was born. Showing her parents going in, leaving with her, then the documents from Mrs Consin about the sign in for the orphanage/foster care. "Then my mother was pregnant again in the late 80s. I can't remember the day that my mom went into hospital, but-

She felt sick. It was now or never. "May 3rd 1987." She interrupts him and he looks at her shock written on his face. "That's my birthday. My parents gave me up for adoption, but they gave me a name, Callissa Heather Grimes."

That's it for today! A long chapter because I wanted that part out. I thought I'd leave it a happy chapter and then another point in the timeline with Secrets. But that cliffhanger of Callie giving away her birthday to Rick, finally admitting that they're siblings. I always forget that I created Callie so whenever I think of the characters or watch it, I feel sad that she's not there. But what do you think of Amy and Jeremy, it's come out of nowhere, a nice little development, but I was writing the scene but I was shook when I finished. I love them together.