Another song in this chapter. It plays at the end of the episode and it's one of my favourites in the show so I had to put it in. Also I think it just fits really well with what happens at the very end of this chapter ;)
Negotiations. Andrea got her wish and had organised a meet.
Rick, Michonne and Carl had come from their run to be greeted by Andrea who had stopped by again. She had convinced the Governor into a day of truce to talk things through, for whatever it was worth.
The run had been fruitful. Rick had taken them to his hometown so that he could stock up at the police station he used to work at. It had already been cleared out by the time they got there, but they soon found the source of the missing weapons. An old friend of Rick, Morgan, who had saved Rick's life in the beginning of the outbreak and stayed behind in the town had ransacked the station. Rick didn't bring him back, the man's son had died and his death caused him to lose his mind. He was dangerous.
But that wasn't our concern.
We had just pulled up at the meeting place, an old rusty run down farm. It looked like we were the first to arrive. Rick and Daryl ran around the barn to check while I waited by the car in case someone came down the driveway. My dad had come with us, wanting to be apart of the negotiations. It was agreed that Glenn and Maggie should stay behind and I was almost forced to as well, but considering it was Glenn that was beat and Maggie who was taken advantage of, I was the best bet and they needed another gun. Michonne and Merle obviously couldn't go and it was agreed that Carol and Beth should stay back.
Daryl soon came back, but lacking Rick.
"He's already in there." He informed. "Just sat down with Rick."
"I don't see any cars." Dad stated, looking out the window of the car.
"Yeah, it don't feel right. Keep it running." He nodded at the car, wanting a quick escape if necessary.
"Hey." I nodded down the road to where a car was coming into view, heading for us.
Daryl held up his crossbow and aimed it at the incoming vehicle while I pulled up my automatic machine gun. The car stop and Martinez looked out of the driver's side window before he opened his door followed by Andrea in the passenger's seat and then another man we didn't know in the back.
"What the hell? Why's your boy already in there?" Daryl questioned, neither one of us lowering our weapons.
"He's here?" Andrea questioned.
"What, did you not notice his lack of presence during the trip over?" I shot back.
"He wasn't gonna come." Martinez spoke. "Said Andrea could go over terms and report back." (I put this in because it never made sense why Andrea was surprised he was there, Like Martinez and Milton knew he would be, but she didn't and yet she organised it because he agreed to sit down with Rick. Like was he supposed to leave after her and the guys? If so then she would have seen him before she left and yet he managed to get there before anyone else without a mode of transportation... So I've made it that only Milton knew, as his advisor and whatnot).
Andrea sighed before walking briskly to the entrance of the barn. Daryl and I slowly lowered our weapons as my dad got out of the car. I moved to help him, earning I nice little stubborn glare as he got out himself.
Then it dropped into awkward silence. Martinez leaning against the front of their four wheel drive, the bandage on his upper right arm not going unnoticed, and the other man stood behind him, scribbling something down in a notebook.
Dad held his automatic gun up high as he balanced on one leg and Daryl stood to his left, anxiously moving and not taking his eyes off the Governor's two men. I moved in front of our car and leaned back on the bonnet.
"Maybe I should go inside." My dad suggested.
"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately." The other man said.
"Oh, so you were aware he was coming then." I turned on the guy.
"No need to get mad." The man stated. "He just wanted to get here before Andrea in hopes of speaking to Rick first."
"Yeah, sorry, it's just a little hard to keep up with you people." I spat back, taking a step towards him. "Who the hell are you anyway?"
"Milton Mamet."
"Great. He brought his butler." Daryl joked as I smiled and surprisingly enough so did Martinez.
"I'm his advisor." Milton explained.
"What kind of advice?" Daryl asked.
"Planning. Biters. Uh, you know, I'm sorry. I don't feel like I need to explain myself to he henchmen."
"You advise him on torture tactics and mind games, as well or just the gladiator pits?" I spat back as he looked back in shock like I would think him capable of something like that. "No? I suppose not. That's his area of expertise, right?" I gestured towards Martinez.
"Hey, come on. I didn't touch you or the others, Muneca."
"You better watch your mouth, sunshine." Daryl quickly jumped in.
"Look, if you and I are gonna be out here pointing guns at each other all day, do me a favour, shut your mouth." Martinez shot back at Daryl before Daryl stepped forward getting up in his face.
"Oh, we won't be doing you any favours anytime soon." I commented.
"We don't need this." Dad interrupted. "If all goes south in there, we'll be at each other's throats soon enough."
They stared at each other for a moment longer before Daryl stepped back. We went back to ignoring each other. My dad went to lean against the barn while I remained against the bonnet of the car, refusing to take my eyes off Martinez. After about fifteen minutes Andrea came back out.
"Your opinion not wanted in there?" I asked, looking down at the gun in my hands as she passed my peripheral vision. She turned and faced me with a hard childish glare as I looked up at her. "You want to know why? Because there's not going to be a truce. Because your boyfriend wants nothing more then to see us dead and Rick knows that. You, however," I pushed myself off the bonnet of the car, turning my body to face her as well this time, "you're just as blind as you ever were, just like with Shane."
"Katherine, now isn't the time." My dad stated while Martinez and Milton glanced between Andrea and I and Daryl only looked my way briefly before looking back out on guard for Walkers.
"When are you going to let what happened on the farm go?" Andrea questioned me.
"I'll tell you what, Andrea... I'll forgive you once Beth's scar clears up." I stated, the lot of us knowing that wasn't something that was possible.
"Katherine." My dad stated more sternly this time as Andrea only shook her head and turned her back to sit down on a nearby bench chair.
Time went by slowly after that, no one speaking to anyone. Daryl paced back and forth every so often, Andrea and my dad didn't really move and Martinez continued to look around the place occasionally, but now sat in front of their car. Milton walked a little way away from the car to have a look around, but he didn't go very far. I moved so that Martinez was always in my sight, knowing he was the biggest threat, Governor aside.
"There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves." Milton stated as he walked back over to the vehicles, breaking our unspoken code not to speak.
"The issues?" I mocked back.
"It's a good thing they're sitting down, especially after what happened." Milton nodded back to me. "They're gonna work it out. Nobody wants another battle."
"I wouldn't exactly call that a battle." Daryl said.
"I would call it a battle and I did." Milton said calmly before holding up his notebook. "I recorded it."
I scoffed with an amused smile shaking my head as Daryl asked, "What for?"
"Somebody's got to keep a record of what we've gone through. It'll be a part of our history."
"No, it'll be a part of your history." I turned on him. "I highly doubt you're writing both sides down in your little notebook. You want to know why good always triumphs over evil? Because it's the conquers that write the history pages."
"We could always write our own side." Dad turned to me in defence of Milton's idea.
I smiled, an image of dad sitting in an old dusty library, scribbling down all our day to day activities. "Yeah, well if you start, do me a favour and make me less obstinate and more badass." I joked before the sound of walkers snapped our attentions away.
I moved to the back of the car so I could put the gun down and swap it out for my machete before following Daryl, Martinez and Andrea towards the sound. There was four walkers on the other side of the water tanks and the Daryl and Martinez had stopped, Daryl turning to the other man.
"After you."
"No way. You first." Martinez gestured with a baseball bat he had exchanged for his gun.
"You got to be kidding me." I muttered before walking between them, Andrea right behind me. I left the closest one for he to get, moving further in front and killing the second.
"Pussy." I heard Martinez say to Daryl before charging forward, twirling his bat around in his hand before slamming it hard into the next walkers head up against the tank. Then he looked back as if in some kind of competition.
Daryl shrugged before walking fast in front of him, shooting the forth with an arrow. Another came around a corner and Martinez twirled his bat around again before swinging up and killing it. I only stood back, watching the two testosterone filled hunks of muscle trying to out do each other while Andrea sighed and gave up, walking away.
As more came around the corner Daryl reloaded and shot another, the arrow going straight through it's head and then into another behind it, but only it's neck. Martinez got ready to take it out when Daryl grabbed out his knife and threw it straight into its forehead.
They exchanged a glance and then a nod as I just looked back a forth between them.
"Nothing like some good old walker killing to bond over." I muttered. "You boys going to hug it out now?" Martinez scoffed as Daryl rolled his eyes and then walked over to one of the dead walkers, noticing something in its pockets.
"Look what he's got." Daryl noted, holding up a packet of cigarettes happily as Martinez leaned against a pole and I narrowed my eyes at the item. "You want one?"
"Nah, I prefer menthols." Martinez stated.
"Douchebag." Daryl said back, a cigarette in his mouth before going to hold it out to me, but I only raised my eyebrows and he got the point before his arm was fully extended, pulling the packet back to him and in his pocket. He then grabbed out a lighter that he apparently had on him and lit it.
I started to wander further away, out of ear shot, but still in their line of sight to check for any more walkers, but also so I could see my dad sitting with Milton, flicking through his notebook back at the car and keep on eye on both pairs. And that's where I stayed.
Third Person – Daryl and Martinez.
"You army or something?" Daryl asked.
"Nah, I just... I just hate these things. After what they did... to my wife, kids."
"Sucks." Daryl said back.
"Thanks." It went silent for a little while before Martinez spoke again. "She's right, you know." He nodded in Kat's direction. "They ain't gonna work anything out. Sure, they'll do their little dance and tomorrow, next day... they'll give the word."
"I know." Daryl nodded.
Martinez looked down to where the cigarettes were in Daryl's pocket and then decided he did want one and Daryl handed it over.
Kat's POV.
After a while Daryl and Martinez started to head back to the cars, but I didn't move. I ended up sitting on the ground up against a tank, watching around the back just in case. I focussed most of my attention in that direction so I didn't hear Martinez come up until he spoke.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I looked up curiously.
"You don't seem like the type to use that saying."
"Just something my wife used to say." He shrugged. "I'm surprised you came today." He then stated. "I mean, after..."
"I'm stubborn." I cut him off simply.
Martinez chuckled. "Yeah, I've noticed."
"What do you want?" I turned to him curiously after giving a quick glance to where the others all stood around the vehicles, Daryl looking over in our direction every so often.
"You shot me, least you could do is give me a smile, Muneca."
I narrowed my eyes before replying, but not harshly. "You were trying to kill me... and Rick, almost shot my father... I only wish I'd shot you in the head."
"Yeah, why didn't you? I saw you shoot those biters... you didn't miss one of 'em."
"They weren't hiding in shrubbery or had a gun held up in front of them."
"You could have died doing that, you know?"
"Doing what?"
"Wasting your bullets on biters that you were safe from instead of the dozen that were coming up behind you."
"Those bullets weren't wasted." I shook my head. "They were after my father. I was protecting him."
"You still have to protect yourself."
I got to my feet and brushed off some grass from my jeans "Why are you complaining? I get myself killed then that's one less person you have to shoot." I finished before nodding back over to the group. "They're coming out." I informed and Martinez turned to see the Governor and Rick heading for their cars.
"Well, I guess that it then." He said before we walked back.
No one was saying a word, we just got in our cars, Daryl on his bike and drove away, each of us looking out the windows at the others, except for the two leaders driving the cars.
When we got back, Rick didn't even have to assemble anyone. They just gathered eagerly awaiting the news, but not before Beth had come over and explained to Daryl and I that Glenn and Merle had gotten into a fight. Apparently Merle wanted to grab a few guns and go out and assassinate the Governor while we spoke to him during out 'day of peace.' With Michonne and Maggie's help though, he was restrained.
"So, I met this Governor... Sat with him for quite a while."
"Just the two of you?" Merle questioned and Rick nodded.
"Should have gone when we had the chance, bro." Merle said to Glenn.
"He wants the prison. He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead... for what we did to Woodbury." Rick waited a long while, taking the time to look at each of us. "We're going to war." He finished, waited another moment and then left.
Everyone went about their business after that, most not saying much, thinking on what was to come. The sun set and the prison became dark and cold, but it was a comfort. We knew we were safe for tonight. The last night we knew we would be after that... no one knew. It was a warm shadow, a comfort blanket to keep us safe one last time.
I sat on the stairs in the cell block, Judith in my arms after Beth had handed her to me to get something to eat. She was still awake, looking up at me as I smiled down, lightly bouncing her every so often until I started humming and she smiled.
Soon the hum turned into a song, a very soft one so as not to frighten her, but with the silence in the prison and the echoing walls, everyone would have been able to hear. This time Beth didn't join though, not knowing the lyrics as I made it up as I went.
What you got going on?
High notes, eyes closed, holding on
And I don't want another day to break
Take our, steal our night away
Judith cooed in my arms, finding the tune soothing before lighting yawning which only made me smile as I sung.
Warm shadow
Warm shadow
Won't you cast yourself on me?
What you got going on?
High notes, eyes closed, holding on
And I don't want another day to break
Take our, steal our night away
Warm shadow
Warm shadow
Won't you cast yourself on me?
Her eyes started to close as she began to drift off to sleep.
Won't you stop breaking in?
Red sky, red light, awakening
And I don't want another day to break
Take our, steal our night away
I stood up slowly and carefully, Judith now asleep and glanced up to see Rick, making my way over to him.
"Thank-you." He whispered as I handed over the now very asleep infant so he could put her in the crib for the night.
"I'm going to bed. See you guys tomorrow." I said to everyone before heading for the stairs and then my cell.
Daryl had been standing on the balcony, but had turned back into the cell once I had stood up and he just now was beginning to move for the top bunk.
"Don't." I said quietly as he turned around to face me.
For all we knew the Governor would attack tomorrow, this could very well be our last night among the living and I wasn't going to waste it.
I stepped forward and wrapped both arms around his neck and leant in to kiss him, but he met me half way.
I really love Martinez and I have plans for him in the future. Don't worry, there's not going to be any competition between him and Daryl, this is a Daryl book. But I do have plans :)
For those wondering, Daryl and Kat are basically official. Like everyone knows that something is going on and they have been able to see it for a while, especially Maggie and Beth.