Everyone sat around the cafeteria early next morning, awaiting the groups arrival. Axel ate some breakfast as he waited, no one bothered by his presence any longer. Rio didn't want to eat so he had gone with Hershel into the next room.
He sat upon the table, his feet kicked against the benches. The first aid kit was thrown out on the table besides him and Rio handed over whatever Hershel needed. The door clanged shut after Carl as he walked through.
"Are you okay?" Rio asked.
"Yeah." Carl replied, standing besides him.
Hershel was just finishing stitching up a man's leg as the boy entered the room. Everyone looked over to him as no one was really speaking, there was just a stark silence and the faint echoes of conversations in the room next door.
"You can take those stitches out yourself in a day or two." Hershel told the boy as he cleared up his mess.
"Thanks." He replied gratefully. "It's uh, Pretty nice having medical training."
"It'll only get you so far." The older man sighed, referring to his injury. The boy swung his now stitched up leg off of the table.
"You were bit?" Tyreese asked Hershel tentatively.
The older man nodded back at him just as Beth could be heard opening the door. She held Judith in her arms. The teen walked past everyone, ignoring the lack of conversation and over to where the baby formula was stored.
"How old is the baby?" Sasha asked, standing up to see the girl.
"Barely a week."
"To be honest we never thought we'd see another baby." She responded walking over to Beth and Judith, she placed a light hand upon Beth's arm. "Beautiful."
"Thanks." She whispered in response, turning to flash her a warm smile.
"How are you feeling?" Sasha asked and Beth's head snapped back around confusedly.
"She's not mine." She replied bluntly.
"Where's the mother?" Sasha questioned, turning to face Hershel, she then looked at the boys. Their silence must've been enough answer because soon she sat back down. "I'm sorry."
"Man, you people have been through the mill."
"Haven't we all?" Hershel simply replied before getting up, following out after Beth on his crutches.
"It's only getting worse out there." The other man explained. "Dead are everywhere."
"It's only making the living, less like the living." Tyreese sighed as Axel placed a bowl of food in front of him.
"You're the only decent folks we've come across." Sasha complimented.
"You've been out there all this time?" Hershel asked, stopping to talk again.
"Our neighbour Jerry, he was one of those survivalist nuts. Everybody on the block thought he was crazy." Tyreese let out a small chuckle. "Always preparing for the end of the world."
"Who knew?"
"Jerry knew." He said. "He had a bunker under his shed in the backyard. Sasha and I stayed there until we ran out of supplies. Allan and Ben were the first people we ran into when we finally crawled up out of that hole around Jacksonville. Used to be a bunch of us. Twenty five at one point." Tyreese sighed like he couldn't believe it.
"Our camp was overrun six, seven weeks ago." Sasha guessed.
"And... and Donna. She, uh..." Tyreese trailed off, he looked over to the dead body on the floor a few feet away.
"We'll see that she has a proper burial." Hershel comforted him.
"I appreciate you taking care of us. For a while we didn't know who we were dealing with."
"Neither did we." Hershel replied. "We've had our problems with people."
"I must be the first brother in history to break into prison." Tyreese joked, Hershel laughed at his attempt to lighten the mood.
"Make me the first white boy that didn't want to break out." Axel joined in, grabbing more food for Sasha and the other two.
"Tyreese. Like I said, we have a much larger group. A close-knit group. I wouldn't get too comfortable here." And with that he tried to leave again.
"We wouldn't be a problem." Tyreese called after him.
"It's not up to me."
"Then who?"
Hershel turned away and Carl followed him out, Rio joining and locking the door behind them.
"Please, you can see what kind of people we are." Tyreese pleaded before the boy was out of earshot.
***
"It's so quiet." Carl sighed as he walked away from the gate. Rio had stood out there with him and Carol, awaiting the others' arrival.
"It's easy to forget how loud the world used to be." Carol laughed. "I used to complain about it all the time. Traffic, construction, car alarms, noise pollution."
"I always hated noise." Rio added.
"What I wouldn't give for the sound sweet sound of a jumbo jet." Carol teased.
Carl laughed at her. "It's be even sweeter if we were all on it."
She hummed in agreement. Then her face dropped for a second, studying the boy as he paced the length of the gate. "Your mom was proud of you."
"For what?" Carl sighed in response. "Being mean to her?"
"No, you can't think like that." Carol told him.
"It's all I think about."
"You're not a bad kid." Rio added, hoping it was any sort of consolation. He didn't have time to ponder as soon a car approached.
"Please be them." Carl whispered to himself. Rio was silently praying for the same thing.
It was. "It is them! Hurry."
The boy ran forward, grabbing at the locks on the gate. He unlocked it and Carol pulled it open, letting the car in.
Rio unlocked the second gate as they made it through, Carl ran over and they both pulled it open.
Rick got out of the car.
"Drive 'em up. I'll meet you there."
Rio heard Maggie's muffled voice from the car. "Okay." She said. Rio almost burst with happiness.
Rick dropped down to his knees and scooped Carl into a hug. "Thank god." He whispered pressing a kiss to his cheek. Carl let out strained laughs.
He pulled back, clasping Rio on the shoulder too.
"Where's Hershel?" He asked them both.
Rio walked over to the car, smiling brightly when he saw Glenn and Maggie in the front and passenger seat. He went to grab open the back door but all he saw was Michonne. He headed too the edge of the gate as Rick Carl and Carol talked.
Where was he? He thought, frustratedly. He wasn't in the car and he couldn't see him anywhere behind.
He walked back over to Rick, scared of the answer he was going to get.
"Where... where's Daryl?"
Rick walked over again, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. He's alive."
Rio pushed it off. "What does that mean?" He asked. "Where is he?"
Carol breathed heavily besides him.
"We ran into his brother."
"And?"
"They went off."
"They went..." Rio repeated in disbelief. He walked off and then walked back, began pacing the small space he could. "He's gone? Daryl's gone?" He asked again for clarification.
"Rio... Rio come on, stop that," Rick said, holding him still so he couldn't pace anymore.
"He's gone?"
Rick nodded solemnly, he didn't need to say anymore.
"Is he coming back?" His voice broke. Carol let out a small cry from besides him and walked away.
"Gone?" She asked him, lip wobbling. Rick slung an arm around her shoulder and lead her back to the prison. Carl did the same for Rio, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.
"What about Oscar?" Carl asked after a while.
"No." Rick shook his head again. He pulled Carol in for a hug as she cried and Carl pulled the gate closed behind them all. Rio waited for him.
The boy looked over to his father before wrapping Rio in a hug too. Rio didn't even have the energy to find it funny that he was copying exactly what Rick was doing anymore. He just burst into tears.
"It's okay." Carl said. "You still have us. And Glenn and Maggie are back now, that's good, right?"
"Yeah." Rio snivelled.
Rick and Carol has walked ahead now. Carl reached out for his hand. "Come on."
They headed up the path to where Glenn and Maggie were stood together outside the car, Michonne right behind them. Maggie was embracing Beth, and then her father. Rio saw Glenn's bruised face and ran over to him, clinging to him tightly. Maggie ran a hand down his back as he cried.
"Baby..." she sighed.
"I'm sorry." Glenn said to him softly. Rio wasn't sure what part he was saying sorry about.
The boy shook his head and pointed up to his face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay now." He said, pulling them both in for another hug.
When they caught up, Beth ran over to Rick and threw her arms around him. She planted a kiss upon his cheek.
"Go on," Rick sighed, telling them all to head inside. He stayed back to talk with Hershel.
Rio followed everyone back into the Cell Block and sat upon one of the tables. Maggie and Glenn had gone back to their Cells to clean themselves up and Beth had followed. Rio watched the new group. He looked over at Sasha and Tyreese and the rest of them, making sure they didn't do anything. They stared back as Carl sat down next to him, gun out.
"We're good people—." Tyreese began.
"Not now." Rio replied, eyes not leaving the ground as he swung his feet back and forth.
"What's your deal anyway? Why've they got kids on lookout?"
Rio didn't answer, Carl continued to stare straight ahead.
The door opened behind them seconds later and Rick made his way through. He didn't even acknowledge the new group as he walked past them. Carl and Rio headed out of the room too, shooting a last look at Sasha before locking the door.
"Not exactly chatterboxes are they?" Rio heard the second man say. He stopped for a second, standing behind the wall.
"Be patient." Tyreese warned. "When they're ready, let me do the talking."
That was all they said, nothing more so he left. He headed over to Rick and Beth. She was handing him Judith and he carefully scooped her from the other girls arms.
"She kinda has Lori's eyes, don't you think?"
Rick held Judith up to his face as she began to cry. He tried to look at her eyes but brought her back down. He rocked her for a second but got stiller and stiller until he was barely moving. Judith kept crying as he looked straight ahead.
"I've got her." Rio said quickly, taking the baby from him. Rick was out of it, too out of it.
He carried the baby up the stairs as she kept fussing, Beth right behind him. Rio noticed that Judith kept looking over at her.
"Here." He mumbled, outstretching his arms. Beth took the baby from him.
"You've got a knack for that." Carol admired as she caught sight of Beth and Rio.
"Just trying to do my part." She replied modestly.
"Sophia used to wake the neighbours. 3:00 a.m. Like clockwork." She chuckled slightly before her voice died down. "Ed stayed at a friend's most nights till she calmed down."
"I always wanted a child." Beth smiled, lightening the mood. She always seemed to be able to do that. "She wouldn't have made it if Daryl hadn't been here."
Just like that Rio froze up. She ruined it.
"He couldn't stand to lose anyone else." She continued.
"Well, now he has." Rio replied starkly.
"Rio!" Carol scolded.
"I don't see why he had to leave!" He responded, trying not to burst into tears at the thought again.
"Merle sounds like a jerk." Beth added.
"He is!" Rio protested. "He— he told me so himself. Daryl told me he was an asshole."
"It doesn't matter now." Carol answered coldly.
"Why would be leave me for an asshole?" He broke. His whole 'being angry' facade broke. He just cried. "I'm so pissed at him for leaving."
"Don't be." Carol said, clasping his shoulder tightly. She gave it a squeeze and turned to Beth who was also upset by his absence. "Daryl has his code. This world needs more men like that." She smiled.
Rio walked away, leaving then to talk about Judith and Ed and Merle all on their own.
***
Rio waited until Hershel left Glenn's room before entering, sitting on the bed besides him. Glenn wrapped an arm around him and Rio buried his head into the other boys chest. They didn't say anything.
"You must've been so scared." Glenn's voice cracked.
"I weren't." Rio lied. "Were you?"
Glenn bit down on his lip and nodded. "I was so scared. I didn't know what was gonna happen to you or to Maggie. That— that made me scared."
"Michonne helped me, the woman who helped you last night, she brought me back home."
"I'm glad."
The boy looked up at his face, the collection of bruises and the black eye. "What happened?" He asked.
"You can ask Daryl's brother."
"He did that?"
Glenn let out a long breath. "Yeah." He stood up off of the bed and threw on a hoodie. "Let's not talk about that right now."
"I'm so mad at him, Glenn."
"Daryl or Merle?"
Rio didn't answer. Maybe that was an answer in itself.
Glenn patted his shoulder twice before heading out of the room. Rio leant on the doorframe, listening in on the groups conversation.
"So what now?" Beth asked, walking over with Judith in her arms. Rio could hear the noise her boots made against the cold floor. "You think the Governor will retaliate?"
"Yes." Maggie answered from the cell to the side of Rio.
"Let him try." Glenn added, more confidently.
"Sounds like he's got a whole town. We're outnumbered and outgunned." Carol said, grounding them all again.
"We could use some reinforcements." Hershel suggested and Rio's head shot up. He nodded along.
The group.
Rick turned to Hershel before letting out a long sigh and heading towards the room Sasha and Tyreese's group were being held.
They all followed after him, flooding into the small room one by one.
"I'm Tyreese." The man introduced himself, holding out a hand to Rick as he approached. Rick didn't take it, he just stood there silently.
"Sasha, Allen, Ben." Hershel finished for them, pointing his crutch at each as he listed them.
"How'd you get in?" Rick asked.
"Fire damage to the administrative part of the prison. Wall's down."
"That sides completely overrun with walkers. How'd you get this far?"
"We didn't. We lost our friend Donna."
"They were lost in the gyms." Carl explained to his father.
"You brought them here?"
"We had no choice." Rio protested.
Rick turned away, nodding his head subtly. He stumbled over his words. "I'm sorry about your friend. We know what that's like."
"Hershel said you could use some extra hands. We're no stranger to hard work. We'll go out and get our own food, stay out of your hair." Tyreese announced. "You got a problem with another group, we'll help with that, too. Anything to contribute."
Rick looked straight at the man before breaking eye contact. "No." He said looking down and shaking his head.
They offered more than some people and Rio thought Rick was stupid not to take them up on their offer.
"Please." Sasha begged. "It's like '10 Little Indians' out there. It's just us now."
"No." Rick said again, reluctant to change his mind.
"Let's talk about this." Hershel tried to reason. "We can't just keep..."
"We've been through this. With Tomas, Andrew. Look what happened."
"Axel and Oscar weren't like them." Carol contributed, bargaining for the two men.
"And where's Oscar now?" Rick shouted. Rio flinched involuntarily, deciding to back up.
Everyone stood in stunned silence before Rick turned back to the new group, taking a last good look at them. "I can't be responsible."
"You turn us out, you are responsible." Tyreese retaliated.
"Rick." Hershel called the man over and began whispering to him. They all watched in anticipation.
The man sighed, "yeah."
Rick looked up to the balcony and started to wobble again, just like he had with Judith. He couldn't tear his eyes away, he just looked away and straight back. "No, no." He muttered to himself. He grabbed his forehead. "No, no, no, no."
"No. No, no, no, no, no." He kept mumbling. Carl inched forward.
"Why are you here?" He asked, voice trembling. He walked away from Hershel, closer to the railing he couldn't stay away from. "What do you want from me?"
"Dad?" Carl asked, eyes wide.
"Why are you... no." He cowered back his lip quivering.
"I can't help you." He shouted them he began screaming. He turned to everyone walking away before turning back again. "Get out!"
He was seeing things. Rio knew this. He'd seen it before. Rick was shouting over an empty banister.
"Woah, woah, woah." Tyreese said as he backed up, rick almost walking into him.
"Get... Get out!" He screamed back at the railing.
"Hey, come on. Woah, it's all good." Tyreese tried to calm him again.
"What are you doing?" Sasha asked as Rick paced, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"He isn't talking to you." Rio yelled at them. "Cant you see, he's..."
"You don't belong here!" He screamed, "Get out! Please!" Rick pulled out his gun from his holster and Glenn yanked on Rio's arm, shoving himself in-front of the boy.
"Relax brother, relax."
"Get out! Get out!" He wailed, waving his gun around.
"We'll leave. We're going. Okay? Ain't nobody got to get shot here. We're going."
"No—." Rio tried to explain. Glenn just pushed him back.
"What are you doing here?!" Rick screeched.
"Okay, we're going."
"Just go! Go! Go!" Glenn told them.
The four of them hurried up the stairs, mumbling to each other panicked. "Come on, come on." Glenn ran out offer them, handing Rio to Maggie as rick circled the room. Gun still shaking in hand.
He looked to everyone.
No one said a word.
***
2/2 of the double update and I hate to say but I was so exited for this chapter