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Rick had taken Carl and Michonne on a run. The man had offered Cassian to go, but she was too scared. After what happened last time, she didn't want to leave the prison for a little while.
When they got back, Cassian was heavily surprised. They brought back guns. And lots of them. She spied a new crossbow for Daryl and the girl had helped Carl bring in a crib for Judith. It was definitely an upgrade from the cardboard box the baby had been sleeping in.
After she helped to bring everything in, Rick had passed the girl a machete, with the agreement from Judd, of course. Cassian beamed at her dad and ran off to show Carl.
After the two hunted down a roll of tape to put on the handle, red just like her backpack, Cassian could hold the weapon more comfortably. She spent a long time practically playing with the weapon and Carl.
It was then Rick approached Cassian again, handing the girl a new set of boots. "Judd mentioned he was needing to get you some bigger shoes." Rick told the girl as she beamed up at him. Cassian hugged the man.
"Can... can you show me how to change the laces, please?" Cassian asked almost shyly.
"Of course." Rick smiled at the girl. The two spent most of the afternoon practicing how to re-lace the boots, Rick even showed her a different way to tie them. She couldn't wait to show her dad.
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They were meeting with the Governor. Rick, Hershel, Judd and Daryl. Judd wasn't sure how they got into this position, but they were here now. Judd stayed in the car with Hershel as Rick and Daryl went to scout the place out.
"He's already in there." Daryl told the two as he came back over to the car. "Sat down with Rick."
"I don't see no cars." Judd observed, getting out of their car and making a move to stand beside Daryl.
"This dosent feel right." Hershel spoke. The three looked over to the right as a truck approached, both Daryl and Judd aiming their weapons at the vehicle, Hershel stepping out of the car carefully.
Three people got out of the truck, one of them was Andrea.
"What the hell?" Daryl addressed the woman. "Why's your boy already in there?"
"He's here?" Andrea asked. Judd resisted the urge to scoff at the woman.
"Yup." Daryl said. They watched as Andrea sighed, walking into the building with Rick and the Governor. The five left outside just stared at eachother, before Hershel broke the silence.
"Maybe I should go inside." The old man offered.
"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately." Glasses said. Judd didn't know his name. Didn't want to.
"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked, eyebrows raised.
"Milton Mamet." The man introduced. Judd laughed.
"Great." Judd blurted. "Trajo a su mayordomo."
The other guy chuckled as he looked at Judd. "He's his adviser."
"What kind of advice?"
"Planning, biters." Milton sighed. "Uh, you know, I'm sorry. I don't feel like I need to explain myself to the henchmen."
"You better watch your mouth, sunshine." Daryl threatened as Judd's mouth quirked up into a smirk.
"Look." The other man said. "If you and I are gonna be out here pointing guns at each other all day, do me a favour, shut your mouth."
"Lo siento, no entendí eso. no hablo mierda." Judd snarled, approaching the man.
"We don't need this." Hershel cut off the bickering, pulling Judd back by his bicep. "If all goes south in there, we'll be at each others throats soon enough."
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"Carl, come here." Glenn spoke, looking to the boy. He rounded the table and walked to Glenn. "You stash these at the loading dock. All right?"
Carl nodded, taking the box of ammunition from Glenn. The older man looked to Cassian, hesitating before looking to Beth. "Beth, put more up on the catwalk. If anyone gets pinned down, we need to make sure that they have plenty of ammo... I'll go work on the cage outside."
"What we should be doin' is loading some of this firepower in a truck and paying a visit to the Governor." Merle spoke loudly. Cassian huffed from beside Maggie as she reloaded another gun, placing it on the table. "We know where he is right now."
"Are you suggesting that we just go in and kill him?" Glenn rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I am." Merle admitted.
"We told Rick that we'd stay out." Michonne chimed in.
"I've changed my mind, sweetheart." Merle droned. "Being on the sideline with my brother out there ain't sitting right with me."
"The four of them are right in the middle of it." Glenn told him. "No idea we're coming. They could get taken hostage or killed." Cassians eyes shot to Maggie, the woman shaking her head softly at the girl. "A thousand things could go wrong."
"And they will." Merle spoke strongly.
"My Papa and the others can take care of themselves." Cassie levelled Merle with a glare which could rival her fathers.
"Sorry, girl, but your dads head could be on a pike real soon." Merle pointed out, watching as Cassians face twitched.
"Don't say that to her." Maggie warned Merle as they watched Cassian stalk outside, probably to Carl.
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"There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves." Milton spoke, walking closer to the small group. Judd banged his head against the wall.
"Boss said to sit tight and shut up." Martinez snapped.
"Don't you mean the Governor?" Daryl drawled, a hint of laughter in his voice.
"It's a good thing that they're sitting down, especially after what happened." Milton continued, unaffected by the bickering. "They're gonna work it out, no one exactly wants another battle."
"I wouldn't exactly call it a battle." Daryl jeered at the man.
"I would call it a battle." Milton nodded. "And I did. I recorded it."
Judd groaned quietly, he saw Martinez looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Milton droned on for a few more minutes but trailed off at the sound of walkers. Judd was walking towards the sound almost instantly, grateful to get away from the man.
He rounded the corner, looking through the silos until he found the dead. Daryl came up behind him, Martinez too. "After you." Daryl offered the man.
"No way." Martinez smiled too sweetly. "You first." Judd just groaned as he walked forwards, snatching the baseball bat from Martinez's hands as he walked past.
"Coño." Judd spoke over his shoulder to the man as he approached the walkers. With one brutal swing, Judd knocked the dead... dead.
Martinez came from behind, taking his weapon back from Judd's hand as he swung at a walker too. Daryl came past the both of them, firing his crossbow at a third. Judd stood back, seemingly bored at the two as they tried to best eachother.
Judd watched as the last two walkers approached, Daryl firing at one, the bolt going through its eye into the neck of the other. Judd grasped his knife from his belt and flung the sharp metal at the walker. The three watched as it hit the target and dropped dead.
Not even a second later, Daryl searched the pockets of the dead on the ground as Judd walked to retrieve his knife. Wiping it on one of the bodies, he slipped it back into his belt.
"Look what he's got." Daryl told them, holding up a pack of cigarettes. Judd's nose wrinkled. "Want one?" Daryl asked Martinez.
"No. I prefer menthols."
"Douchebag." Daryl commented as he lit a cigarette, taking a drag. Judd rifled through one of the walkers pockets and found some gum. Apple flavoured gum. Daryl looked at him as he put it in his pocket.
"Los críos." Judd spoke. Even though Daryl didn't speak Spanish, he understood what Judd meant. He ignored Martinez's eyes.
"You army or something?" Daryl questioned Martinez as the three stood there.
"Nah." The man shook his head. "Just hate these things. After what they did... to my wife... kids."
"Sucks." Daryl sympathised, taking another drag of his cigarette.
"Thanks." Martinez mumbled. "This is a joke, right? Sure, they'll do their little dance and tomorrow, next day... they'll give the word."
Daryl made a noise of agreement before he walked back over to Hershel. Martinez looked to Judd. He hesitated before speaking. "The little girl..." Judd stood straighter. "She's yours right? How's she doing? She got... she got banged up pretty bad."
"Well, you can thank your amigos for that." Judd quipped back.
"Look, I didn't lay a finger on her... she's just a kid." Martinez admitted.
"She's just fine."
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Carl turned around as he heard his friend approaching, rapid Spanish flying from her lips. "You know, I don't speak Spanish, but I can tell when you're cussing somebody out."
Cassian took a deep breath as she stood next to her friend. "Take one guess."
"Merle?" Carl asked as Cassian leant her head on his shoulder. The two looked out to the prison yard.
"Ding ding." Cassian hummed. "He's... not nice."
"I figured." Carl almost scoffed as he thought about the worry he felt when Cassian had come back from Woodbury. The two stood in silence for a while before Cassian spoke up.
"How you doin, Carl?"
"I'm fine. I guess." Carl shrugged, shrinking under Cassians calculating gaze.
"You guess?" Cassian parroted. "Look... Carl, you lost your Mama..." the girl chose to ignore the sharp intake of breath from beside her. "It's okay if you're mad. It's okay to be angry and it's okay to cry and be sad. And it's okay not to be okay at all." Cassian said softly. She remembered when her father mumbled those words to her.
"I got a lot of... bottled up emotions about it I guess." Carl downplayed quietly.
"Then break the bottle." Cassian told him. Carl squinted at the girl.
"I didn't really do well in school, but I'm sure that's not how metaphors work."
"I'll break the bottle for you." Cassie grinned at Carl. "With my fists." The girl held up her hands, making Carl let out a laugh. She knew she couldn't make everything better, but at least she could make her friend smile. "You can't keep it in... I would know... you gotta... you gotta let yourself feel it. Even if it hurts."
"But what if you're wrong?" Carl hummed, looking to his friend. Cassian leant her head back on his shoulder.
"All I know is that one of us is right, and the other one is you."
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Merle looked into the cell block, looking at Michonne. "You know I'm right." He spoke, getting her attention. "The folks here, they're strong, good fighters. But they ain't killers."
Cassian popped her head out of her cell. She had had a little nap, the girl was currently playing with the laces of her new boots... again.
Michonne put her stuff on the ground as she walked closer to Merle. "Rick is. Judd is. Maggie is. Cassian killed one of the Governors men, Carl put down his own mother."
Cassian stalled for a moment before retreating back to her bed. Did... did Michonne think she was a killer?
"Mercy killing." Merle shook his head, the echo of his voice carrying through the block. "Don't make the kids assassins."
"Mmm. But you are." Michonne hummed quietly.
"When I have to be." Merle let out a dry chuckle.
"Then how do you explain letting me get away?" Michonne accused, eyes calculating.
"I must have been... seduced by your sterling personality." The man murmured. "You coming with me or not? Me and my brother, we have a few calls we use when we hunt. I'll give him a heads up. He'll warn the others."
Cassian could understand that. She had her own little set of whistles she used when she was out with her family. Her mama's side. Different whistles meant different things.
"We'll be home before you know it." Merle bargained.
"And what about Andrea?" Michonne asked, not missing a beat.
"Bullets fly, she's gonna have to make her choice real quick." Merle shrugged.
"You're on your own. You get people killed? It's on you."
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Carl and Cassie tugged open the gates to let the car inside. The girl let out a sigh of relief when she saw Daryl's motorcycle, he had come back this time.
After the kids locked the gate, they walked side by side to the cell block, following Rick and the others inside. The two grinned at Judd as he passed them half a pocket of apple gum each. The group was piled together, everyone looking to Rick.
"So, I met this Governor." Rick spoke. "Sat with him for quite a while."
"Just the two of you?" Merle asked as Rick nodded. Merle sighed and walked away. "Should have gone when we had the chance."
"He wants the prison." Rick revealed. Judd squoze Cassie's shoulder, his other hand sling across Carl's back. "He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead... for what we did to Woodbury... we're going to war."
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Rick opened the gate, letting the truck pull in. Judd and Daryl jumped off the back as Glenn and Michonne climbed out the doors. "If they try to drive up to the gate again, maybe some blown tires will stop them." Glenn told Rick as the man approached them.
"That's a good idea." Rick nodded.
"Yeah, it was Michonne's." Judd stared Rick in the eyes, not backing down. Rick had told Judd, Hershel and Daryl about the Governors offer.
He'd leave them alone if they gave him Michonne.
Judd didn't buy it. He'd probably kill Michonne and then kill them anyways. In his eyes, Michonne had earned her place, she helped them get Cassie, Maggie and Glenn back for goodness sake. Hershel was on the same page as Judd, not liking the idea one bit.
"We don't have to win." Michonne explained to Rick. "We just have to make their getting at us more trouble than it's worth."
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"Ain't no way." Merle mumbled at the window at the top of the walkway. Cassian looked up at him.
"What?" Carol asked as she placed Judith in her new crib. Cassian had helped the woman set it up.
"Nothing." Merle called down, shaking his head in dismissal.
"What happened here?" Carol directed the question at Merle. Cassian moved her gaze from the sleeping baby to the mess that was now the cafeteria.
"We got any whiskey?" Merle questioned. Cassian rolled her eyes, looking back to Judith. "Hell, I'd even drink vodka."
"Go to hell, Merle." Carol sighed as she sat at the table, Merle chuckled as he walked down the steps towards the two.
"Are you with us?" Carol asked the man.
"Sure."
"I'm not talking about occupying the same space." Carol huffed as she loaded up some magazines. "Are you with us."
"I'm here for my brother." Merle pointed out.
"He's here for us." Cassian spoke up, not sparing the man a glance. She played with the baby's hand as she slept. She was so small.
"It's not time to do shots. It's time to pick a damn side." Carol looked at Merle.
"You ain't like you was back in the camp." Merle laughed a little. "A little mouse running around, scared of her own shadow."
Cassian didn't know much about the group before they came to the farm, only a brief storyline of what Carl had told her. He did mention that Carols now dead husband was not nice at all.
"It wasn't my shadow, it was my husbands." Carol spoke as if she was bored.
"Well, you don't seem scared of nothing anymore." Merle observed.
"I'm not." Carol placed the magazines in a bag before she swung it on her shoulder. She left the room. Cassian just stared at where she was sat.
"I don't think I ever apologised." Merle spoke up as he walked towards Cassian. Her nose scrunched as she looked up at him. "For... you know..." he gestured to the stitches on her head.
"You didn't." The girl sneered, looking to Judith as the baby begun to fuss awake.
"I'm-"
"Callarse la boca." Cassian cut the man off as she grit her teeth. "You're not sorry. You're not capable of being sorry." The girl picked up the baby, cradling her tiny body before she glared at Merle. She walked into the cell block, away from him.
She didn't want his apology.
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Cassian sat next to Beth on the table outside as they all looked to Rick once again. It was becoming a pattern. "When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal." Rick revealed. Cassian heard her dad shift from behind her. "He said... he said he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne. And I was gonna do that... to keep us safe."
Beth grabbed for Cassians hand softly. The two girls held onto eachother as they looked to Rick, confused. "I changed my mind. But now Merle took Michonne to fulfil the deal and Daryl went to stop him and I don't know if it's too late." Rick rambled.
"I was wrong not to tell you." He admitted. Cassian leant close to Hershel's shoulder as she held Beth's hand. Hershel slung an arm around Cassians shoulders.
"And I'm sorry. What I said last year... that first night... after the farm... it can't be like that. It can't. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are, it's not my call. It can't be. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good, because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here, not me. This is life and death. How you live... how you die... it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor."
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Rick ate with that last line fr tho...
:]
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