𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧, daryl dixon

twenty-six

Rick shook his head, his eyes lingering on Murphy as he remembered last night's argument, "Smart for then or smart for now?"

Murphy didn't respond.

"This is now," Michonne affirmed.

A knock suddenly sounded from the front door, and Murphy volunteered to answer it. She left the two and padded over to the foyer. As the door opened, she caught sight of Deanna and Maggie on the front porch.

"Good morning, Murphy," Deanna smiled. "May we come in?"

Murphy stepped back, opening the door wider, "Of course."

Maggie sent her a small smile as she passed through, "How're you doin'?"

"Pretty good," Murphy responded, setting a hand on her arm while closing the door with the other.

Deanna turned to Murphy, "We came to speak with you about your job in the infirmary, and with Michonne and Rick about their duties. Are they here?"

"Yeah, they should be right inside," Murphy replied softly. Maggie made her way into the kicthen while Deanna stayed behind and Murphy continued."I-uh, went to the infirmary and Pete was there."

"Yes, he came to speak with me... about you," Deanna responded carefully. "He advised me not to let you join as a doctor. I will admit, he was-"

"Drunk?" Murphy asked, crossing her arms. She sighed, "Listen, I don't know if you understand how dangerous that is for his patients. If he's not in the right mindset... who knows what he can do - intentionally or not."

Deanna raised a hand while keeping her eyes trained on Murphy, "And I understand that. But until you arrived, he was the only person in this community with medical experience. I couldn't just fire him, I still can't."

"You need to take care of him, Deanna," Murphy reasoned, nodding slightly. "I'm not telling you how because that's not my place. Just explain what's going on... But do you agree with him? About me?"

"No," Deanna replied quickly. "Of course not. I may not have seen you in action yet, but I can tell that you're a very competent and talented woman. I see that."

Murphy couldn't help the smile that grew on her face at the kind words. The faith that Deanna had in each of them was unbelievable. She didn't know them. Not well, at least. But she could see right through their facades. She could see who they really were. Murphy found that incredible. Before she could respond, Deanna turned to walk into the kitchen, where Maggie, Michonne, and Rick sat at the table. Murphy followed behind and stood beside the chair that Maggie sat in as Deanna began.

"You protect and serve," she started, her hands splayed on the table where she stood. "You patrol, walk the wall, watch out for the kids. If there's a conflict, you solve it. And people will listen to you."

"Because we're wearing windbreakers?" Michonne asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Because they believe in this. Because I'm telling them to," Deanna responded before sitting down and pointing out the nearby window. "A police officer used to live here. We had these jackets and I wanted to make it official. So it's official. There's gonna be a government here one day. That's why I want Maggie working with me. There's gonna be a police force. That's why I want you two to start it. I see a vibrant community here with... industry, commerce, civilization. Real lives. It might be horses and mills, but- what? Does it sound like pie in the sky?"

She stared at Rick expectantly, but Maggie replied first, "No."

Murphy noticed the determination in her voice and realized that Deanna was now looking to her. She did think it was possible, everything that Deanna was saying. She spoke, and hoped that her tone had some resemblance of confidence, "No."