Solitude -> The Walking Dead

41

I patted her back and she pulled away with a big grin on her face. It was contagious so I found myself smiling too. We climbed down and looked at the retreating cars just as the rest of the group joined us.

Ryan and Dakota looked at me with worried eyes. I waved my hand in dismissal. Ryan smiled at me and nudged Dakota with his shoulder. She rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"We did it. We drove them out." Rick stated.

He looked at me with a proud expression on his face. I was still breathless from the shot so I simply nodded at him. We've won this battle, now we only have the war left.

"We should go after them." Michonne said.

"We should finish it." Daryl supported her idea.

That was a notion that I agreed with. We'll never be safe until they're all out of the picture.

This war won't end without the Governor. And we need it to end if we're going to have any chances of survival.

"It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail it out of here?" Maggie asked.

"They could regroup." Michonne argued.

And if they do then we're fucked. There's only so many tricks we can use on them before we lose that advantage. After that our numbers will be what kills us. We're outnumbered.

"We can't take the chance. He's not gonna stop." Glenn said.

"They're right. We can't keep living like this." Carol agreed.

Although I agreed with them, Maggie wasn't illogical either. We barely survived this fight and we had knowledge about our surroundings. Woodbury is a completely different story.

"If we were to attack Woodbury, how would we do it? It barely worked last time and that's when they didn't know you were coming." Ryan argued.

No one answered his question. The matter was put on hold until we checked up on the others.

It only took a few minutes for them to arrive. Abby ran to the three of us and we had a group hug.

"Okay, this is enough family bonding for me." I grumbled.

I pulled away as Abby protested. This is too cliché for my taste. Family hugs and happy reunions. As if though I was going to let anything happen to any of them.

Rick talked to Carl about something as I talked to Glenn and Maggie. The rest of the group was preparing to leave to find the Governor. Maggie and Glenn convinced me we needed some people to stay for protection.

"Rick, we're staying. We don't know where the Governor is. If he comes back, we'll hold him off." Glenn spoke up.

I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. We'll be the prison's protectors. If the Governor is foolish enough to come back, then I'll end him for good this time. Hopefully I won't get shot again.

"Just the three of us?" Daryl asked.

"Five of us, actually." Dakota said.

I turned around to see her and Ryan joining us. They were both equipped for a fight and the sight made me uneasy. I went to speak but Dakota held up her hand to stop me.

I frowned. She was telling me that I couldn't stop them from going. My heart started racing as I thought of the worst case scenarios. A hand on my lower back stopped me though.

"I'll keep 'em safe." Daryl said.

I turned my head to look at him and he took off his hand. My body ached for him to touch me again. But I knew he wasn't going to. He was just trying to reassure me my siblings won't share Merle's fate.

I nodded as he backed away and Rick thanked us for staying. They headed out for Woodbury and I watched them leave.

It felt uncomfortable to let my siblings go out there without me. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't protect them.

-----

The sun had almost set when the sound of cars spread through the prison's yard. I immediately got up from the chair I was sitting in and got my gun ready. I wasn't prepared for the sight in front of me.

Rick's car was leading a bus and a few more cars into the courtyard. I recognize them from Woodbury. What the hell did I miss? They were supposed to be the enemy.

As they parked, Ryan and Dakota came out of their car. A huge weight fell off my chest. I decided to screw the clichés and just do what I wanted to. I hugged Dakota and held out my hand for Ryan to take.

They laughed and Ryan ruffled my hair. I scowled at him before pulling away from Dakota and hugging him.

From where I stood, I could see Daryl looking at us. His eyes held such longing. We probably reminded him of what he lost.

As he walked to the fence, away from sight, I decided to follow him. He didn't even flinch when I stood next to him looking into the distance. A part of him must've known I was going to follow him.

"I don't want to fight with you, Josephine." He spoke up.

My breath hitched at his words. They could mean a thousand things that I'm not ready to hear. But listening to him is the least that I can do after breaking his heart. And mine.

"I don't want to fight with you either." I replied.

He looked at me and the heartbreak in his eyes made me hold my breath. I didn't know it was going to be this hard. Guess that's one of the consequences of getting attached.

"Let's pretend it didn't happen then. Any of it." Daryl said.

I inhaled sharply as his words hurt more than he thought. My mind screamed at me that I don't want to pretend it didn't happen. Because it did and it mattered to me more than I cared to admit.

Yet as I stood next to him, watching as he tried so hard to conceal his feelings, I couldn't say no to him. Not when his eyes begged me to relieve him of some of his suffering.

"Yeah, sure. If that's what you want." I mumbled.

He nodded before making his way to the prison. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to ignore the pit in my stomach. My chest went up and down as I tried to steady my breathing. A single tear slid down my cheek and I wiped it away.

I didn't know what was worse. Not being with him or having to pretend it never happened. Although that was my usual tactic of moving on, this time I didn't want it.

Daryl was the first person who made me feel loved by someone who wasn't my family.

Pretending we never happened was like pretending I never felt that way towards another human being. And sometimes I just needed a reminder that I could feel.

I released a shaky breath before putting on a fake smile on my face. With it firmly planted on my face, I back inside the prison. The people from Woodbury were settling in and the sight almost made me anxious.

We've never had this many people before. Ryan was helping an elderly woman carry her things into one of the cells as she talked to him.

My gaze shifted and I saw Abby introducing herself to two girls around her age. They were laughing about something that I couldn't quite catch. It was nice to see her with her peers, to see her just be a teen.

A hand was put on my shoulder and I turned to find it belonged to Dakota. She pulled me into a sideways hug as we watched the prison slowly fill up. I bit my lip as I leaned my head against hers.

I may have lost Daryl, but I still had my family and a home. Because that's what the prison was. A home. Our home.

End of season 3