The first week after arriving at the boarding school was an absolute nightmare. If it wasn't her sister learning she was pregnant and having a silent war with her baby daddy then it was group members asking her a millions questions and expecting her to know the answers. No, she did not know how the water filters worked. In fact, Greg Chang's father worked in water and sanitation so he wanted to use his own experience to help. Could they speak to the man? No, his smile was unsettling. Had these people been blind to Edwin Jenner this whole time?

So, she was almost always with Simon and Tyrone who were constantly begging to work in the security office. They were smart kids, Simon ended up writing a whole new code that worked with motion sensors. It saved a lot of time and energy since Amy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown if she had to stare at another dark, empty hallway any longer. Good thing their vehicles were all in good shape so once they were finished helping clear out the school, Jim and Glenn were going to supervise the boys.

"C'mon." Daryl had motioned her forward as soon as Glenn took over for her.

The teenagers were quickly slipping through different camera views and marking their locations so that Merle could know where they physically were. There was no way they could rely on the system until they knew it better. The old redneck was getting paranoid now that they had finally reached their destination and could sleep in their own beds. Well, some of them could sleep in their own beds but Amy still ended up having a slumber party with her own children every night. She didn't mind much since it was the only time she could spend with them.

"Where are we going?" Amy asked curiously when he led her towards the parking lot where they parked the convoy. He flashed her a quick smile before mounting his bike, looking ridiculously good looking.

"Surprise."

"I bet you and Merle didn't think to grab helmets." Still she hesitated, no matter how good he looked on the bike, the chances of an accident were one in one hundred before the fall.

"C'mon, girl." Daryl waved away such minor concerns like safety precautions to the side. "I seen you lookin'!"

Well, who could reject Daryl Dixon on a motorcycle? They were waved out of the gate with barely a nod, Tony had jumped head first into helping with security. Even after a week, they were still taking daily rides through the grounds to make sure they had not missed any walkers. Amy had no idea how much the school spent on landscaping since there were only ten acres with any kind of trees that weren't aesthetically planted.

There was a large man made lake in the back side of the campus close where the solar field was located. Surrounding the lake was a large grouping of young trees and dotted with little cottages. Why they were built was lost on Amy, even Brian was unaware of their existence. According to Wade they were left abandoned for decades as if the school had just forgotten about them.

It was a short ride, only a couple miles outside of town that was almost completely untouched by the apocalypse. Most of the roads outside of town were still just packed dirt, the only one that was paved directly from the highway to the mainstreet and school. When Daryl slowed, Amy saw construction for a new housing development, the same overly large plywood homes that were built in a month. Only one home was completed, the rest of the plots were in various stages of laying down the foundation.

"Looking to move out already?" Amy asked once he pulled into the two car driveway to the three story home. It was a beautiful yellow house with a sign out front announcing that they were home in big letters.

"Got you a surprise, girl." The hunter led her into the house that was completely furnished and she realized it was a show home, to be viewed by potential buyers even during construction.

The front foyer was very pretty with expensive marble floors, all the stylish tables were covered in pamphlets about customizing the homes. Amy ignored all of it because Daryl was giving her that look while pulling her up the sweeping staircase. The hunter never stopped his wandering hands even while they checked the house before he led her to the master bedroom. She was busy marveling at the biggest bed she had ever seen in her life while Daryl opened the closet to show off a cooler filled with venison perlo and a fancy bottle of wine.

"This your idea of a date?" Amy couldn't stop the wide smile that stretched across her face when Daryl actually looked a little bashful. She reached around him to snag a full box of condoms that was partially hidden by the cooler. "You spoil me, Mr. Dixon."

Rick Grimes

James and his people were a large group that had to leave the campgrounds in Alabama because of a rogue military unit. Many of the families were still recovering from what the large group of soldiers inflicted upon them. One of the ladies tearfully explained that women were subjected to an awful price for their families' protection. It had taken weeks of beatings, rape, forced labor before one of the officers claimed Jessica, James' sister. The details were sparse but from what he could understand, the bereft ginger had gone on a rampage with some stolen silverware and killed most of the superior officers during dinner. They had been running towards the coast ever since.

There wasn't a doctor, in fact he was the one with the most medical knowledge in this new group of people he had found. He had been so weak from hunger and occupied with Carl that before he even knew what had happened, James had him bandaging minor wounds and doing checkups. Lori was immediately made welcome by Donna and the other women. The group was so large, he barely even saw T-Dog.

"I'm not a doctor." Rick ground his teeth when James hauled him into the old RV they were keeping the wounded in. The big redheaded man only raised a bushy eyebrow in his direction before tossing a med kit in his arms.

"You're the closest thing we have." Allen, a weedy man with a permanent scowl, said harshly while James attempted to sooth a young blonde woman who had been bitten. "I don't think many of us would trust another doctor after the healthcare specialist at the RV park."

"I took some first aid courses but you gotta understand, our department was underfunded!" He didn't want to do it. Hell, he never even took the full 13 week class, only the refresher four hour demonstration that was offered once every other year. There was always talk of getting the certified courses but he was from Kings County, they shared a fire station with three other towns.

"T says that someone in your group was bitten and they lived." James invaded his personal space, staring him down with an intensity that made him shiver in dread. "You're gonna save my sister."

The ginger man stated it like a fact, that there would be no other option. Jessica wasn't the only one from the run team who had been bitten but she was the only one they had managed to bring back alive. From a few feet away, Rick could see where a walker had savaged the woman's back, she looked almost flayed. Donna and another woman were constantly dousing the wound in vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.

"Yeah, they cut off his arm within minutes of him being bitten." Rick whispered, feeling as if he would be violently ill when Jessica screamed herself hoarse. "I'm not a doctor, how am I supposed to…"

"I don't care if you have to skin your own ass!" James barked, jabbing him in the chest with his stubby, dirty finger. "Save my sister!"

Donna ushered him closer after Allen dragged the ginger man outside for some air. The other woman who had been helping rushed to the bathroom looking ill. Once Rick got a good look, he couldn't blame her. Not only had layers of her skin been shredded from her body, the bite mark under her shoulder blade already looked black around the edges. The veins under her skin were distended and a sickly green color. Even with the little medical knowledge he had, he knew there was no way to save her. However, if he wanted a safe place for his pregnant wife and people to search for his son, he had to try.

"I need someone with steady hands." Rick swallowed all his nerves, bringing his own shaky hands forward to dunk them into the bowl of vinegar.

The next two hours were the most horrifying of his life. Jessica was a beautiful young woman but the bite had already shown that the infection was setting in. Dean, a young butcher, was brought in to help cut away the muscle and skin around the affected area. Rick had no idea what kind of medicine she would need, even if the virus wasn't coursing through her veins. He was just lucky that there was a recovering heroin addict in the group who had no problem setting up an IV.

"How's she doing?" James asked once Rick had layered damp gauze over the exposed muscle on Jessica's back.

Dean had to carve all the way down to the bone around the bite mark since the muscle was quickly dying and turning a dark green, almost black color. The young man had vomited once he finished peeling away most of the skin on the woman's back on the former sheriff's orders. Donna had crushed up some Amoxicillin and placed it into the saline bag, stating she had seen it done in a movie once.

"I thank we cleared away all the infected skin." Rick was not convinced but Dean had taken an additional three inches off all the way around the initial bite wound. "We didn' have anythin' to knock her out but the morphine kept her drowsy and numb. I ain't a doctor but I hope we got it all."

"How long will it take her to heal from all this?" James completely ignored the fact that he had absolutely no medical training, acting as Rick could actually give him a suitable diagnosis. Honestly, the former addict had more medical knowledge than him but once he caught sight of the tackle box filled with medication, he had run out of the camper.

"It's in God's hands now." Lori spoke up, spooking the former sheriff. She had that sweet, comforting smile on her pretty face as she pulled the burly man into a motherly hug. "We've done all we can but Jessica is a strong girl. You've given her her best chance."

"Thank you." James said breathily, tears swimming in his eyes, he was quick to take a seat on the floor next to his sister's bed.

"Come on, Rick." Lori gently coaxed him outside and he was momentarily stunned by her beauty. This was the kind woman he had married and had been missing since he woke from his coma alone. "You need to get something to eat and get cleaned up."

"Good work in there." T stopped him once he had finished cleaning himself of all the blood. Many of the campers were looking at him appreciatively after hearing how he worked so hard to save Jessica. She was a sweet girl who had gotten a scholarship to Alabama for track and was always the first to volunteer to scavenge, never letting the trauma of the campground bring her down. "Should have had you working with Jenner."

"Who's Jenner?" Allen asked nosily, walking towards them aggressively with his son, Ben, close behind.

"He was a doctor in our old group." T told them carelessly, the new group had not asked many questions about their old one. Essentially, claiming them monsters for kicking out a pregnant woman and children.

"You guys had a doctor?" Ben asked in confusion, glancing over at some of the others who were listening in.

"Yeah, we had two." T continued on, a wistful expression on his face. It was obvious to Rick that the man sometimes regretted his choice to come along, he had made friends in Amy's group. "We picked up Dr. Macomes just a day before we left, she was the doctor who stayed and took care of Rick when he was in a coma."

"You had two doctors and they kicked out a pregnant woman?" Donna explained, looking to Lori in pity.

"Well, it was a bit more complicated than that." T looked at Rick with confusion.

"We had a different opinion on how things needed to be run." Rick stated, hoping that would be the end of the conversation but a few more people he had not bothered to introduce himself to were edging in.

"What does that mean?" An older man asked suspiciously, the former sheriff didn't know his name but he remembered that he was close to Allen. They were a part of a small group who didn't want to let new people in. "I thought you got kicked out because you were a drain on their resources since you had children and your wife was pregnant."

"What?" T exclaimed in surprise, turning to look at Lori with an accusing glare, as if he knew such gossip could only come from his wife. "No, Rick wanted to lead but we as a group elected Amy. After Sofia and Dale were bit and Rick tried to start a coup, she really didn't have a choice anymore. I came with you because Jenner said you needed someone to look after you."

"I think we should all hear this." Allen had somehow positioned himself and his family to separate the trio from the group as a whole. It was no surprise the man would look for any excuse to cast them out. Rick was dismayed when T started to speak to the large group without an ounce of hesitation, definitely telling a different perspective than what he experienced.

"We started out in Atlanta and Amy was always a bit weird." Rick felt dread building as the other man held back nothing, from his mistake at the CDC all the way to trying to single handedly stage a coupe.

Mitch Brown

Amy had cut his arm all the way to almost the elbow, sometimes he still reached for things with his left hand. It was crushing and painful in the moments he forgot. However, Jenner, Gale, Amy, and Jim were working on prosthetics for him. It was nothing like the nice ones he had seen at the VA but it didn't irritate his stub much. Jenner had to open the wound and sew it back up again, he did not want to know anything from the days he had been heavily medicated. So, instead of standing guard or something useful, he was attempting to stab a ruined mattress with his new arm that ended with a very sharp knife.

"You look ridiculous." Mitch almost tripped and impaled himself on his own brand new arm at the sound of Wade's voice. He turned and almost laughed at the man calling him ridiculous.

The blond man had Timothy wrapped like a star fish and strapped to his chest but he was also loaded down with two diaper bags and he was wearing the most ridiculous straw hat that was big enough to shade baby as well. Just after settling into a room, it was quietly accepted that the baby was adopted by the potato farmers. There was no big announcement or argument, only Amy and the other mothers producing a stack of Little Debbie cakes to welcome them to parenthood.

"Look who's talkin'." Mitch snorted, slipping the leather sheath over the knife of his prosthetic. "You gonna boil that boy alive, it aint that cold yet."

"He's underweight." Wade looked down at the sleeping baby critically, pushing the little knitted scarf away from his face to feel his skin. "Jenner and Gale said till he puts on some weight, he'll need the layers."

"Yeah, Daisy and Duke were preemies." Mitch could understand his worry and almost laughed at the new parent's terror when he reached over to touch the baby's soft cheeks. He had gained a bit of weight but his skin was still too pale and his breath was a little choppy. "Mary barely let 'em out of the house for almost six months, just the doctor's office and home."

"All of our nieces and nephews were big and…well, Tamara was crawling around the house at four months. She did it backwards but…none of them were this small and…" Wade looked down at his new son with obvious love and worry. "Think Jenner is gettin' sick of the questions and Gale won't do anything without his sayso."

"Think all doctors have ta take a course on new parents." Mitch laughed, thinking fondly of Mary coming home with bags of baby items after every doctor's appointment. "Jenner may seem like a crotchety ol' man but he won' turn you out for bein' worried. Baby needs some air though, so maybe lose a couple layers. Also, where you takin 'im, Pride Rock?"

"Miranda said it was best ta be prepared for anythin'!"

"Well, leave the pillow fort and the Phil Collins CD and enjoy the sunshine with your son." Mitch took one of the large diaper bags off his back and took a glance inside. There was a full medkit, four blankets, some books, and even portable ECG which made him look up at the man with a raised brow. "How did you get that past Jenner without selling Timmy?"

"They let us have a few things to keep on hand." Wade huffed indignantly and Mitch could only imagine how much of a pain he and his husband made themselves. Jenner was anal retentive when it came to his medical stockpile. When they started transferring supplies from his medical trailer into the school, each box and bag was moved under his critical supervision. "OKay, so we went through Amy and Jean."

"That sounds about right!"

"Dad!" His daughter was rushing towards him with the little red headed toddler on her back and Morales children at her heels. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Doctor approved, Princess." Mitch felt a little irritated, Mary had actually argued with the doctors about him moving into the dorm rooms with his family. His children were constantly checking up on him like he wasn't their father. He knew it came from a place of love but he was ready to do something productive instead of staring at walls in the med bus. "I need to get my strength back after weeks of laying in bed."

"But you worked up a sweat!" Daisy actually felt his forehead like one of the children she was always babysitting. "Maybe I should get Dr. Jenner?"

"Daisy!" He raised his hand to push her out of his face before he realized that his hand was replaced by a very long, sharp knife. It didn't matter that it was in sheath, his arm was gone and he would never harm his children. "I need to go."

Luckily, Wade interrupted his daughter from following him by asking questions about child care. It wouldn't keep her occupied for long, he was sure his wife would be the next person to come to check on him. Duke at least tried to be subtle, rambling about the fuel project Amy was letting him lead. Amy spoke to him and Mary about the logistics since the peanut farm was not on campus. They would be making the diesel at the campus but processing the peanut oil at the farm since everything was already in working order.

Mitch didn't feel comfortable with his son staying at the farm until it was fortified but that wouldn't be happening until the summer, spring at the earliest. It didn't help that when they left for planting, he knew that he would still be useless. While he could probably take down a few walkers with his arm, he couldn't shoot or help with planting. He couldn't even sweep the floor anymore.

Mary was walking towards him and he felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders.

Amy felt relaxed for the first time since they arrived at the school, probably the most relaxed since the apocalypse started. Daryl's callused fingers ran along the naked skin of her back. The room was bathed in light and he had gotten up after they were done to throw open the windows, allowing in the cool breeze. They had never had so much uninterrupted time, and at the thought, she sat up quickly.

"I didn't tell anyone we were leaving." Amy panicked, they had been gone for three hours. Most of that time was spent in bed, only taking breaks to sip on the bubbly grape juice. Daryl had been embarrassed when he realized that it was no fancy wine or champagne. "We've got to get back, they must be freaking out."

"Already tol' 'Chonne 'nd Merle." Daryl slurred, looking like a cat stretching in his favorite spot of sun. "Said we was plannin' some traps."

"Traps?"

"C'mon." Daryl slipped on his shirt and pants, once again forgoing underwear. He led her over to the wide bay window that had an excellent view of the entire development.

For the first time she saw the rows with freshly paved streets. There was heavy equipment and a worksite with some trailers along the back. However, her eyes were focused on the deep, large holes where they had started to lay foundations. Amy glanced at Daryl over her shoulder with a silly little smile.

"You remembered?"

"Yeah, won' be hard ta set up them pits you drew." He wrapped an arm around her waist, pointing out a central plot that had most of the basement finished. From a distance, she guessed it was about nine feet deep and had cement stairs. It didn't even had support beams up. "Plenty of buildin' materials so we can set up them catwalks we were talkin' 'bout at the school."

"Maybe we won't have to raid a home depot." Amy smiled happily, thinking of what headache it would have been.

There was one Walmart and it was over twenty five miles away. The bigger stores were even farther away and they had marked them off on the maps for longer runs. The entire county was seriously underdeveloped and she had a feeling that the owners of the school had something to do with it. The town only had two hundred residents and they all worked at the school on or mainstreet. It made no sense, Amy dreaded the owners ever coming back. However, according to records Arnold Nemours was the first student picked up by private plane.

"It's all comin' together." He whispered in her ear when she leaned against him. Closing her eyes, she let out a hum of satisfaction. Daryl was right, it was all coming together.

Unfortunately, they arrived home to tragedy.