Amy stared at the teenage boy, hoping to understand just what he was trying to tell her. Simon had shown up after she locked the Nemours staff in the nursery wing and wasn't that place just creepy as hell? What kind of school actually had a dedicated department to private adoptions? Simon had the records, even things that she shouldn't be able to see. In a school so small, it made a small fortune each year on teenage pregnancy. If that didn't turn her stomach, the behavior modification therapy certainly did.

She wasn't a psychologist, didn't take any of the classes when she was in school since she focused on business. However, she could see the abuse. It looked like many influential families who sent their problems to the school to fix them. Sure, there were hot heads like Rossi and party kids like Elizabeth but some families sent children who should be in prison. Then to pad the register with scholarship kids and even pay off their families to give up their parental rights?

It turned her stomach, Alexander Beufort Wallace the fourth, a repeat offender whose family paid off his young victims. One dedicated police officer was pushing the DA to follow through when the Wallace family sent their son out of state to Nermours. Their directives were clear, fix him. There were some notes about his progress with aversion therapy. It didn't go into detail, she would have to find the hard copies in the basement for more information. The headmaster did make a note about moving on to chemical castration. What the fuck. Xander was one of the first children picked up by helicopter.

The school was founded as a place for the wealthy to dump their problem children. The staff were trained to appease these kids before they were sent off to college. It wasn't until the eighties that they started using psychological procedures in an effort to fix the kids. It was sickening, 2010 and they were still using outdated and debunked treatments in an effort to brainwash their children! There was little to nothing in the files about the bunkers, just that they had been in place since the school was founded. Hopefully, her paranoid thought that the council was responsible for the apocalypse was just a crazy theory.

Amy just wanted to have a picnic with her kids and sleep with Daryl Dixon. Was that too much to ask for?

"I can't find any of them." Simon admitted once she sat back in her seat, not wanting to read anymore. She was conflicted on how to handle the staff, just killing them was a waste. They knew the school better than the group and could be helpful but she wasn't sure she could trust adults that stood by and watched children being abused. However, Merle was now in charge of security where six months before the apocalypse she would have crossed the street to avoid the lewd asshole. So, she truly believed people could change but she did not have the patience or time to emulate Dale. "The board left the country before they started evacuating…Most of them were headed to France."

"Why do you have this?" Amy asked softly, hesitant and almost unsure if she wanted to know. Could he have wiped out what they did to him? Was there more he was hiding?

"I was…going to blackmail Jeremy Blake." Simon whispered, glancing up at her through his heavy lashes. "He was head of the board and represented the founding families' interest. They bought me…I didn't want them to own me forever."

"Is that what you meant?" Amy reached out slowly to grasp his hand in hers in an attempt to comfort him. "That your family was gone?"

"Dad…they needed the money." He shrugged but didn't pull away, only his red cheeks and shaky voice gave away how emotional he was. "I wasn't even here a month before they signed over their rights but I thought…well, you can see that Michelle tried to help and the den mothers were replaced so often, they didn't know what was going on…."

"Thank you for showing me this." Amy sighed, as if they didn't have enough to deal with the zombie apocalypse. "How are you liking working in the security office?"

She listened intently as the boy brightened visibly, describing all the programs he could run, how with Tyrone's help he thought he could build security drones. Well, she liked to tinker but he was all about the code. Most of it just went right over her head but she still listened intently, hoping to connect with him.

"Mom." Billy's voice cut Simon off and her little boy did not look pleased, Daryl was standing over his shoulder with his siblings surrounding him.

However, before Billy could throw a tantrum with backup from his siblings and the oblivious hunter, Andrea rushed into the room looking like she was on the verge of a meltdown. Her older sister ignored everyone else and even pulled her away from Simon to wrap her into a suffocating hug while she burst into tears. Amy made the appropriate cooing noises and rubbed her back, bewildered about what was going on. Her first instinct was to blame Merle but she took a deep breath to calm herself. The man was a walking red flag and she was aware the others doubted him. She knew that he would do whatever was necessary to make sure he and his younger brother lived. Lucky for her and her children, she was confident she and her children were covered by her Daryl shaped umbrella. Merle not claiming her sister's baby made her worry she had misjudged him.

"I need…" Andrea cried out, ignoring the awkwardness, Daryl was hurriedly trying to usher the children away and Simon practically teleported across the room to a new workstation. Emma rushed past them all to join the sister's hug, soon she was joined by her siblings. That seemed to set off Andrea who clutched at Amy's shirt desperately.

"What's wrong?" Did her voice lower to what she usually spoke when one of her children was having a teary tantrum? Absolutely, it was automatic after only months of motherhood. Did it seem to work since her sister stared at her as if she had lost her mind? Maybe?

"You sound like Mom!" Then she was wailing again, shaking the children off as if they were contagious of some disease. Amy wanted to be angry and offended but she had very little patience left and turned to Daryl.

"Can you take them back out to the dorms?" Amy practically begged with her eyes since Daryl had been edging away from the door very slowly. It would have been comical but her hands were full of a hormonal, pregnant woman. "Simon, Tyrone go with them and send in Glenn to watch the monitors with you."

"'Right." Daryl chewed his thumb before reaching down and grabbing Braden by his overalls, he used his free hand to silently wave the kids towards the door.

The girls rushed to comply but Billy grasped her belt loops with a stubborn pout. Jamie and Emma were probably stung by the harsh rejection from her sister and Amy wasn't sure she had the patience to be kind about it. Andrea had snapped at her nearly every time she had even come near her since she found out she was pregnant, she also rarely helped out the other members in setting up the school. She knew she was carrying her niece or nephew but there were plenty of jobs she could do, even in her fragile state.

"But-" Billy started when Daryl cut him off firmly.

"Your Momma needs ta talk ta ya Aunt. C'mon."

Daryl gave her a nod when she smiled gratefully, Andrea glared tearfully at them impatiently. The older woman only lost her composure when the door closed behind them. It felt like an eternity before her sister stopped sobbing pitifully on her shoulder. She wordlessly handed the distraught woman one of the rags she now always carried with her. Whether it was walker blood or snotty noses, they were damn convenient.

"I need to find Joh…Negan." Andrea said the name with a certain emphasis that made Amy's blood run cold. How could she possibly know that psycho? While she had never heard of that name other than a villain from her favorite TV show in a life long lost, maybe it had become popular in New York? "Did you hear me?"

"No, I didn't." Amy replied monotonously, trying and failing to convince herself that there was no way her sister met a loser gym teacher when she was living in New York. "Care to repeat that?"

"John lied about his name…" Andrea looked so hopeful and relieved when she met her eyes. "I know it was wrong but…he needs to know about the baby so I have to find him. You told me that the kid could use satellites to find people."

"Negan….is the father."

"Yes, I'm s-"

"So, Merle did not knock you up?"

"No, he got a va-"

"Merle is not the father?" Amy repeated, uncaring of any reason her sister could come up with. She had just spent the last week giving the redneck the cold shoulder and bitching to his brother about what an asshole he was.

"No!" Andrea huffed, glaring at her impatiently.

"Oh, well moving on then!" Amy matched her glare, wondering how she was in the wrong since her sister had told her the baby was her and Merle's business and she should just back off. "Wasn't he married?"

"Yes, but his wife was really sick and you know there aren't many oncologists roaming-"

"What does that have to do with finding your baby daddy?" Amy cut her off, feeling a spike of irritation at her sister's jealous expression.

"Well, it may sound awful but…"

"Yes, Andrea, it does sound awful that you want to send out people to their deaths to find your married affair partner in the hopes that his wife has already died from cancer." Amy fell back in her seat looking at her older sister who just stared back stubbornly. "What about Merle?"

"What about that asshole?" Andrea sneered, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "He got a vasectomy and loves pointing out how stupid I am to get knocked up but that's not the point! Negan needs to know about the baby, we can bring him back here. You're always saying that we will need more people to run this place!"

"Yeah, 'cause a man that cheated on his sick wife and lied to you about his life is just screaming reliable! The fact that he knocked you up has nothing to do with why I would never risk a member of our group on him and everything to do with the fact that we aren't prepared to take in more strangers!"

"Amy, it's not like I ask you for much!" Andrea said boldly, not even registering Amy offended gasp. "I need him! We couldn-"

"Shut the fuck up."

"Amy!"

"Shut the fuck up."

"I can do it." Michonne announced her presence confidently from the doorway with Glenn and the two teenage boys behind him. She looked at Amy with a pointed expression before continuing. "My friend, Jocelyn, I've been thinking about it and I think I know where she is. I've been marking maps and I really think-"

"Shut the fuck up." Amy stood up with an obviously fake smile before turning to Glenn and the boys. "We'll get out of your way but let me and security know if you find anything on the monitors."

"Yeah, no problem, Amy." Glenn smiled a little nervously, stepping aside so the blonde could stalk out with Michonne and Andrea rushing to follow her.

"Amy, it's a good plan." Michonne started as soon as the door closed behind them. "After what you to-"

"Shut the fuck up." She didn't even turn to face either woman, just picked up the pace towards the headmasters office in hopes that they could continue in private.

"Amy, I ne-" Andrea tried but stopped when her sister turned abruptly with a menacing glare.

"I don't think I can phrase it any simpler for you." She was significantly shorter than both older women but Andrea and Michonne took a step back when Amy got into their personal space to hiss. "Shut the fuck up until we get to the office where I can explain in small words how there is no possible way I would allow a single fucking person to treck alone to the norteast in December!"

There was an obvious tension in the small trio while they trekked across the campus to the headmaster's office. It was sound proofed and had become Amy's office no matter how little time she spent in it. Jean and Edwin were both busy working on making a proper filing system in the secretary's office so that they could have hard copies instead of relying on computers. Amy understood their worry since there was every possibility that the solar panels would just die one day and she still didn't know enough to fix them. George was working on pipes and sanitation and no one else volunteered. God, she wished she knew where Hector was, the man had bragged about his electrician skills enough at the farm. He may have been a teacher but he had a very large family who had no compunction about using their kids for free labor.

"I know that it would be hard and you're probably right that getting to Canada in winter wouldn't work." Michonne conceded easily enough but Amy knew her friend was a stubborn and loyal woman.

"Negan lives in Virginia, right at the North Carolina border!" Andrea followed her sister to the large desk, placing both hands on the wood to lean forward with an earnest expression. "It wouldn't take long and I could go myself! Ten hours! There and back!"

"How long did it take to make it across the state…not even the entire state of Georgia?" Amy had calmed down some but she was still frustrated.

"That's because we had such a large group!" Andrea persisted, even without Michonne's obvious support since the woman sat down to watch. "Just give me a car and I will drive myself."

"And when the car breaks down or you run into a pile up?" Amy asked slowly, making her sister bristle at her condescending tone. "When you run into walkers and people? Not to mention you've been sleeping for twelve hours every day or more and barely have the energy to help out with chores."

"Okay, Lori." Andrea hissed, reeling back in offense. "We got here and already you're harping on fresh clothes."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Amy smiled vacantly, her left eye twitching in annoyance. "Was pressing a button and switching loads of clothes between machines too taxing for you?"

"You don't get it do you?" Andrea slapped both hands down on the desk in fury. "You have someone to help you out with your kids! In fact, you had a back up soldier boy waiting in the wings and you have friends in your little mommy group! In five months I won't have anyone, I'm all alone!"

"My kids are with sitters for almost sixteen hours a day, Andrea!" Amy stood from her chair, knocking it back roughly. "The only times I see them regularly are meals and bedtime when I am too exhausted to do more than attempt to listen about their day because I've spent the rest of my time mothering three dozen grown ass adults! So, tell me how would the man who ghosted you for a year before knocking you up and leaving you alone in a skeevy motel be a contributing member of this group let alone a fucking functional father to your child? You seem to forget that I was there when you bitched about your relationship to John Smith! You saw him maybe six times a year, if that! You were constantly on the verge of breaking it off but then he would reel you back in with a weekend in Atlantic City of all fucking places!"

"You don't get it!"

"You're right, I don't get it!" Amy continued on, not bothering to lower her voice. She had been patient but sometimes she just wanted to throw someone out of a window…or herself just so she didn't have to continue to listen. "I've tried to talk to you but you let me go on thinking that Merle was the asshole who didn't want anything to do with you! I wanted to tie him to a tree in the woods for the walkers and bears for the way he was treating you! Do you know how many times a day people are asking me if you're having some kind of depressive episode because you can't complete the simplest of tasks? Hell, the other mothers regularly offer to take over your jobs so that you can rest. Now, you want to fuck off three states away for a man who couldn't even respect you enough for closure or honesty? Instead, he met up for a booty call?"

"He loved me but his wife was sick." Andrea whimpered, looking for the first time as if she was actually questioning her relationship with Negan. "If the world hadn't ended, we could have-"

"Andrea, I love you." Amy cut her off before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "We've talked about how you need to focus on you. Mom talked about it, Dad joked about hiring someone to kill your boyfriends, we talked about it some more…Andrea, you're pregnant. My niece or nephew is much more important than your relationship problems and your shitty taste in men. It will never be within our means to cross multiple state lines to pick up one person who we knew before the world ended."

"He's the father of…this!" Andrea pointed at her stomach, arching her back to emphasize the bump that was now visible in her tight shirt. "How am I supposed to take care of it by myself? As you just pointed out, I'm not exactly built for all this!"

"What didn't you get about my children being watched over by other members of the group?" Amy shook out her hands in agitation, feeling as though her sister didn't listen to anything she just said. "You're not the only single mother in the group!"

"Is Mom adopting another kid?" Billy asked as soon as Simon and Tyrone left with Glenn, she glanced down at Emma who let go of her hands to latch onto Daryl.

"She ain't mentioned it." Daryl barely glanced down at Billy, too focused on keeping Braden's hands away from his bolts. "Ain't like she would forget 'bout you."

"Do you want to adopt more kids?" Billy continued on, unbothered the glares she was sending him. She wanted Daryl to be their dad, he had started spending more time with them since they got to the school.

It was great to have her own space, even if she had to share it with Liza and Emma. Not that they ever slept in their own rooms. They've been having fortnights since they moved into the dorm house. Tia said she didn't want any of her kids too far away since Tio was still lost. It gave her a gnawing hole in her stomach just thinking of Tio who saved her from getting eaten by the dead.

"Daryl, thank god!" The hunter didn't get to answer and Jamie worried that he did not consider them his children so he avoided looking at them when Carol called out to him.

The woman had changed alot since Sofia lost her leg, even Billy wasn't as scared of her. Jamie couldn't figure out what was different just that the older woman tried to learn more than before and maybe it was the way she tried to talk at meals more. Carol was still mostly on laundry duty and taking care of Sofia, she was never allowed to be alone with the rest of them though.

"Whatcha need?" Daryl asked but kept his distance and used his body as a shield to keep her and siblings away from the woman.

"Merle found an archery range and I was wondering if maybe you could help me learn." Carol moved closer and she completely ignored Jamie and her siblings, even Braden who was still babbling in the hunter's arms.

"I want to learn how to shoot a bow!" Billy exclaimed loudly, glaring at the woman defiantly to prove he wasn't the same scared little boy from the farm.

"Talk ta ya mom." Daryl shrugged, looking unbothered until Carol reached out to touch his arm and he jerked away. "I'll set up somethin' wit' Merle."

"But I-" Carol took another step towards them, earning a loud, high pitched scream from Emma at the top of her lungs and making Jamie nearly jump out of her skin. The reaction was instantaneous, Daryl had lunged forward to bring her little body closer to him, searching for some kind of injury.

"Leave my Daddy alone!"

"I'm not saying you're not right but…you're not right." Michonne stated as soon as Andrea left the office in a huff. It was like speaking to a brick wall, Amy just did not understand her sister's hardships, apparently.

"Okay, how am I wrong?" Amy drawled sarcastically, feeling a bit petulant that her best friend wasn't taking her side.

"You told me you know…things." Michonne leaned forward with a pointed look. "Shouldn't you use what you know to help people? Jocelyn doesn't need to end up like that, she's a good person."

"I'm sure by apocalypse standards, she was still a good person because she took in kids." Amy shrugged, not particularly bothered about strangers. "Whether it was because she genuinely cared about said children or if it was part of some kind of con, I'll never know but I can't send people to fucking Canada on the off chance she's still the woman you know."

"Why not?" Michonne asked, looking a little desperate. "If you know there's good people out there, why aren't we sending people to go get them?"

"The school needs to be fortified and set for winter because according to the records it will snow in the next couple weeks. The roads are already dangerous without adding ice and breakdowns in freezing temperatures. We have five people locked up underneath the school that I'm still trying to figure out what to do with. There's a million things we need to do here before we can start actively inviting people back."

"I thought that we would be accepting new survivors if we found them on runs?" Michonne asked in genuine confusion since it was the accepted protocol since they accepted new people so easily.

"I would like a secondary place set up so we can get to know these people before we bring them to the school." She ignored the bewildered expression on her best friend's face. "Look at Brian and his…friends for example. I don't want to let them out into the wild since they know where we live but I also don't want to kill them for something they did before the world fell apart. We have a home to protect now, we can't take chances."

"I suppose we can't get background checks anymore." Michonne conceded, tapping her fingers on the arms of her chair. "Still, what about all the people you know are good? Shouldn't we do something?"

"I can't." Amy refuted immediately, thinking of Terminus with a grimace. They were kind and accepted anyone before becoming cannibals. "We have enough problems here at the school without inviting more. What if Jocelyn is part of a group? Do we take them all in? Would she leave them? What if they aren't good but she needs them to survive? I'm sorry, Michonne but the risk is too great."

"I can go in the Spring."

"What about Andre?"

"It shouldn't take long." For the first time, the older woman looked disheartened. "I…can't leave him, can I?"