Lucy eyed Michonne warily as they reached the tree where Michonne had laid their bags, "Are you sure you're fine?" she asked in the brief time it took the woman to pick up her bag. "Because you don't seem fine and you're limping horribly," she muttered as she picked up her own bag.
"I said I'm fine and I am," Michonne lied as she turned to face Lucy before limping a few feet but she slowed down when she saw approaching walkers, getting her katana ready to use it but as the walkers made it to her Michonne just stood there looking at them as they went right on past her.
Looking back over at Lucy who had hid behind the tree where their bags had been she raised an eyebrow quickly before looking away from the redhead and down at the walker guts that covered her and it was then that she knew the smell must have masked her scent from them and that before they went too much farther Lucy would also have to get covered, especially if it meant masking her scent and keeping them safe. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hearing the phone ring again Rick reached out in a hurry to answer it, "Hello?" he asked into the receiver.
"You didn't want to tell him how your wife died," another female voice spoke.
"No," Rick stated in response. "I just lost her, but...but if that's what it takes..." he trailed off.
"It'd be good," the woman encouraged. "You should talk about it, Rick."
"That sounds..." Rick started but stopped when the realized the woman had said his name. "How...how do you know my name?" he asked before hearing the line go dead again.
Hanging up the phone, this time he just stared at it in disbelief. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucy who was now herself covered in walker guts, walked with Michonne as they neared what looked to be a town based on the brick building they had just walked beside and also the abandoned cars and small little shops.
Hearing what sounded like a car though Lucy crouched down behind a vehicle slightly, watching as what appeared to be a jeep came to a stop in front of one of the stores.
Getting out of the car, Maggie softly shut the door behind her as she looked around at her surroundings, wanting to make sure the coast was clear for her and Taylor before they went inside to look for what they needed.
"Clear outside," Maggie smiled once she was satisfied with what she saw.
Turning around she made her way over to Taylor who was getting their bag out of the car.
"All right, let's take a look," Taylor spoke as he shut the door and met Maggie in front of the store's door.
"Hey," Maggie said softly before leaning in to kiss Taylor on the lips briefly. It was only when she pulled away and looked at him that she was surprised when he leaned in and returned the gesture, this time kissing her with a bit more passion before pulling away himself.
Smiling finally Maggie looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun was out and the sky was clear. "It's a beautiful day," she said knowing that it indeed was a beautiful day, though it seemed they rarely got to enjoy any of those days.
Going towards the doors after Maggie spoke, Taylor moved slightly, using the chain tool to break the chain that kept the door to the store locked.
Once the door was unlocked Taylor opened the door but immediately crouched down as two birds flew out of the store in a hurry and he swallowed hard, feeling like for a brief second his life had flashed in front of his eyes.
Standing back up after the bird incident Maggie turned on her flashlight, watching as Taylor went inside the store and as she did so she smiled softly at the toy she saw.
"Taylor, get that duck," Maggie nodded as she pointed out the toy.
"What?" Taylor asked confused as he turned to face Maggie.
Maggie continued to smile as she again pointed to the duck, "Get that duck."
"Are you serious?" Taylor questioned not sure why Maggie was asking him to take the duck.
"Yeah," Maggie answered knowing she was dead serious. "A kid growing up in a prison could use some toys." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avery couldn't help but smile down at the baby girl in her arms, the baby whom she had agreed to watch for Beth so Beth could go do some chore but to be honest Avery suspected Beth was just sneaking off with Zac to go fool around or something like that. It was typical of them.
"You're just a precious little thing aren't you?" she asked the baby as she grinned down at the girl. "Such a precious little thing with no real name still," she chuckled knowing they had all somehow adopted Daryl's nickname for the baby right now. Little Ass-Kicker.
"You know you seem like a natural," a voice spoke from beside Avery and when Avery looked up she was surprised to see Glenn. "You'll make a good mother some day."
Blushing at Glenn's words Avery shook her head, "Jessica told you didn't she?"
Glenn gave Avery a guilty smile as he nodded his head, confirming her question. "You don't have to worry though your secret is safe with me."
"It's not going to be a secret for long, I swear," Avery said knowing she had never intended to keep it to herself for long even if she had debated it. "I just...I need time to adjust to being pregnant and then finding a way to tell Daryl. It's not like this was a planned baby, I mean hell we never even talked about babies."
"But he did look like a natural holding this one," Glenn said as he looked down at the baby in Avery's arms.
Avery nodded her head at that, "He did, didn't he?" she asked as she finally smiled too. "But that doesn't mean he'll be happy about having his own," she whispered more to herself. "He may even freak out because of what happened to Lori. I could...I could die during childbirth."
"You could also live," Glenn told her as he shrugged. "You know glass half full kind of guy here."
Laughing at Glenn's words Avery rolled her eyes though she again had to admit he was right. She guessed there was a possibility she could live as well and have a safe delivery. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We just hit the powdered formula jackpot," Taylor grinned as he walked out of the store, Maggie following behind him.
"Oh thank god," Maggie muttered at Taylor's words feeling relieved because at least hopefully this meant the baby would be held over for a few weeks anyway.
Taking off his backpack Taylor rummaged through it, "I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustard's," he muttered before looking at Maggie. "It's a straight shot back to the prison from here. Probably make it in time for dinner," he spoke as he began to put stuff in the back of their car.
"I like the quiet," Maggie said as she picked up one of their bags. "Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are."
"And where is it ya'll good people are calling home?!" Merle called out as he approached the two figures knowing he had indeed recognized one of the voices as being one of Jessica's brothers.
Pulling his gun out Taylor followed Maggie as they moved a bit closer to the man and then recognition hit him, "Merle?" he questioned surprised to see Daryl's brother staring back at him.
Merle couldn't help but chuckle as he slowly laid his gun down as Taylor and the brunette female with him got their guns, out approaching him, "Wow!" he muttered feeling a bit in shock at this coincidence still really.
Holding his hands up he began to approach the pair.
"Hey, back the hell up!" Maggie yelled as the man who Taylor had called Merle...the man who she guessed was Daryl's brother approached them.
"Okay..okay honey," Merle spoke trying to sound all innocent and nice. "Jesus!"
Taylor couldn't help the glare he gave Merle as he kept his gun held on the man, "You made it," he spoke his tone a bit harsh.
"Can you tell me, is my brother alive?" Merle asked as he locked eyes with Taylor. "Huh?" he muttered when Taylor just stayed silent.
"Yeah," Taylor answered deciding to be honest with Merle.
Merle smiled at Taylor's confirmation that Daryl was alive. "Hey, you take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta," he said trying to make a deal with the man in front of him. "No hard feelings. Huh?" he asked as he watched Taylor eyeing him warily before looking at his stump with the knife on it.
"You like that?" Merle asked in between a chuckle as he waved his stump around. "Yeah. Well I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up myself," he smirked. "Well, pretty cool, huh?"
"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you," Taylor spoke finally before Merle could say anything else to him.
"Hold on. Just hold up," Merle said still trying to play nice here.
Taylor shook his head as Merle began to advance again, "Whoa...whoa," he said trying to tell him to stop.
"Hold up here. Hold up," Merle muttered at Taylor's reluctance. "Hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle," he smiled hoping or well trying to get some sympathy. "Come on, now. You can trust me."
"You trust us," Taylor told Merle sounding authoritative in the way he talked to the elder Dixon. "You stay here."
Giving an exasperated sigh Merle shrugged his shoulders before pulling out the gun tucked into the back of his pants, "No!" he yelled as he fired a shot watching as Taylor took off in one direction and the brunette in the other and as the glass broke in the back of their jeep he ran after the brunette.
Taylor who ran around the vehicle came to a stop when he reached the other side to find Merle on the ground with Maggie, his gun pointed right at Maggie's head.
"Hey, hey, hey," Merle muttered as he looked up at Taylor who stood there holding a gun on him. "Buddy hold up."
"Let go of her," Taylor warned through clenched teeth. "Let go of her!"
"Put that gun in the car," Merle told Taylor as he kept his gun on the brunette. "Put it in the car, son."
Sighing Taylor gave in to Merle's demands, putting his gun in the car before holding his hands up in surrender.
"There you go," Merle smiled as he stood up from the ground, keeping his gun on Maggie. "Now we're gonna go for a little drive."
"We're not going back to our camp," Taylor told Merle as he shook his head.
Merle shook his head no as well, "No, we're going somewhere else," he explained knowing he planned to take them to Woodbury. "Now get in the car, Taylor!" he yelled out gruffly. "You're driving!" he said seeing Taylor just standing there looking at him holding the brunette at gun point. "Move!"
"Don't!" Taylor pleaded not wanting him to hurt Maggie which was probably the reason he finally got inside the driver's side of the car.
Once Merle got in the back with Maggie, Taylor started up the car, driving away to where ever Merle was going to take them.
Lucy who was still hidden behind a car, stood up with Michonne as they watched the car with Merle and his hostages drive away and she looked over at Michonne warily, knowing the people had left the cart full of formula behind..and they had mentioned something about a prison. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avery who had finally handed the baby back over to Beth after she got done with her chore or well Zac, eventually went on the look for Jessica and she was surprised when she didn't find her sister in her own cell.
Making a face Avery headed to her cell, pausing in the entry way when she nearly collided with Jessica.
"I was looking for you," Jessica said sheepishly as she looked at her sister who she had almost collided with. "I wanted to apologize."
"Apologize?" Avery asked deciding to play dumb for a bit.
Rolling her eyes Jessica crossed her arms, "About the whole pregnancy issue," she said before chewing her lip. "It's your decision on when to tell and I'll support it no matter what."
Smiling softly Avery leaned in and pulled her sister in for a hug, "I love you Jessie," she whispered knowing she did love her sister even if sometimes they didn't see eye to eye.
"I love you too you stubborn thing," Jessica teased as she hugged Avery back. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hearing the phone ring again Rick stood and just watched it for what felt like forever though it really wasn't and as he answered it he asked the one question on his mind. "How did you know my name?"
"Because we know you."
"How do you know me?" Rick asked as his voice caught because this time he thought he recognized the voice on the line.
"And you know them Rick. The people you were talking to today, that was Amy, Jim, Jacqui," the familiar female voice told him.
"Lori?" Rick asked as his voice got caught again but he got no answer. "Lori? Lori? Lori? Lori?" he spoke saying her name over and over again as he bent down towards the floor.
"What happened, Rick?" Lori asked her voice sounding so soothing. "Baby, what happened?" she questioned again during his silence.
Beginning to cry a bit louder, Rick hook his head. "I loved you," he told her before repeating it again. "I loved you. I couldn't put it back together...I thought it was..I made a deal with myself. I would keep you safe. I'd find a place, I would fix that. And then...I couldn't open that that door. I couldn't risk it. I was gonna keep you alive," he muttered out explaining things to her. "Carl, the baby and then...I thought there'd be time. There's never time, but I loved you. I love you. I couldn't put it back together," he sighed feeling a bit hopeless. "I should have said it...I should...I should have said it."
"Rick, now you listen to me," Lori spoke sounding firm. "You have a baby, our baby and Carl...and the others. I love you Rick," she reassured him. "Can you do that?" she asked him getting only silence. "Can you do that? Rick? Rick?" she continued to question though her voice was becoming gargled and static sounding.
Just sitting there, Rick moved the phone away from his ear as he hung it up before standing up feeling a bit numb inside. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laying in bed with Andrea, who he was making love to, Phillip pulled away as a knock on the door interrupted them. "I lied when I said I was off the clock," he said as he looked down at her. "This is a twenty-four, seven kind of gig."
"Should I hide under the bed?" Andrea asked curiously as she looked up at him.
"Not this time," Phillip muttered back as he pecked her lips briefly before standing up and slipping his pants back on. Grabbing a shirt off a hanger, he slipped it on without even buttoning it as he walked to the door and opened it to reveal Merle.
Merle who stood there for a few seconds after the Governor opened the door just briefly took in his appearance before speaking. "Company?"
"Yeah," Phillip nodded as he eyed Merle.
"We lost all three guys," Merle spoke after the Governor answered him. "Tim, Crowley...the other one.."
"Gargulio," Phillip told Merle referencing the other dude. "Jesus."
Merle nodded his head as he continued on with his half-truth or well maybe it was a half-lie. "Yeah, the redhead shot Tim in the stomach, put a bullet through him.Then biters got in the middle of it, then I got them."
"Damn," Phillip muttered as he shook his head. "Well, we'll dress it up. Give 'em a hero's funeral. You tell a story. A supply run gone sideways," he said as he tried to think of something. "Do you have 'em?" he questioned seeing confusion pass Merle's face quickly. "Their heads and Michonne's sword."
"Um, we got caught in a crowd," Merle spoke having to think fast now. "The kid had the heads, Crowley had the sword. They both got all tore up," he explained seeing a look of disappointment pass the Governor's face. "I got something else for you, though. A guy I used to know from the Atlanta camp and his pretty little girlfriend."
Phillip raised his eyebrow at Merle's last revelation, "They know Andrea and Kate?"
"Mhm," Merle confirmed with a nod.
"Anyone else?" Phillip asked curiously wondering if anyone else was out there.
Merle shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know. Found them on the return trip. From the looks of 'em, they got to be set up pretty good," he said knowing they didn't look like they had been wanting for nothing. "I'll find out where," he said before turning and walking off.
After Merle had left, Phillip shut the door and headed back to his bedroom where he found Andrea wrapped in a sheet by the window.
"Everything okay?" Andrea asked as she turned to face Phillip.
Phillip smiled as he shrugged his shirt off, "Hell, yeah," he told her before moving in to kiss her again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zac who was sitting at a table with Carl while Beth made dinner, looked up as he heard foot steps coming into the main area of their cell block and he was half surprised to see Rick heading towards them, though the farther he came inside it was apparent where the man was heading.
Rick was heading towards Hershel who held the baby girl in his arms.
Standing up slowly Zac scrunched up his eyebrows as he watched Rick just pause in front of Hershel and he couldn't help but feel his heartbreak for the man in a sympathetic way or maybe it was empathetic since he half knew what Rick felt on some level with losing a wife, though unlike Rick he also had no baby with him to make up for it.
Once Rick had finally taken the child Zac smiled sadly as he watched his interactions with the baby and before he even knew it Rick was leading the way outside, the baby girl in his arms and Carl at his side while he followed along with Beth and Hershel..and right now in this moment it seemed like Rick was maybe a bit okay or well better than he had been.
"She looks like you," Rick smiled as he looked down at the baby then over at Carl. After he had done that he looked out at the field and made a confused face before handing the baby over to his son. "Hey, just...you got her?" he asked hearing Carl mumble a yeah and once he knew Carl was okay holding the baby he walked closer to the gates wanting to get a better look at what he was seeing.
Reaching for his gun along the way, Rick eventually slowed down as he reached the gates and as he took a look at the other side, he cocked his head to the side realizing he was looking at two living people amongst the walkers. A redhead who held a cart full of what looked like formula and other stuff and then another woman who had some sword and her leg almost looked like it was injured.