— EVER SINCE ZOE HAD LEFT THE prison, Nate couldn't get the girl out of his mind; he hadn't been away from her since the farm days, and he didn't like the fact he didn't know how she was doing, and if she was okay. Obviously, he knew that Glenn would take good care of his girl, but it didn't stop him from worrying about her safety. Nate guessed that this is what it was like to be whipped - he didn't know, he had never been in a serious relationship before Zoe, after all, he had grown up watching his abusive fathers short lived relationships that never lasted, he didn't know what any healthy relationship looked like. But he knew for a fact, that what he and Zoe had, was good.
He stayed back in the cell block whilst Daryl went searching for Carol, or her body, as he just wanted to find some closure if the woman was really dead. Everyone seemed to be in the dumps after what had happened with the horde taking over a part of the prison - but the baby was making that a lot better than they would be if she wasn't there. Beth could sense that Nate was uneasy, as she watched the boy pace in front of her constantly, keeping his crossbow raised in case of any trespassers that came by. He would constantly be brushing the hair out of his face whenever it would get in his way, and he would lick his teeth as he glanced around the room; Beth was watching this whole time, and she could tell that he was worried for Zoe. "She'll be okay, you know." The girl finally decided to speak up, shaking the baby gently as she tried to get her back to sleep.
Nate looked over at the girl, knowing she was right; Zoe was a tough girl, she could handle anything that was thrown at her, but did that stop him from worrying about her? No. He would always worry about Zoe Grimes, no matter what. "I know." Nate nodded, giving Beth a small smile in appreciation for the girl trying to make him feel better. He was agitated, and he couldn't even hide it. Nate liked Beth, the girl was a good friend of Zoe's, and he didn't even mind her, she was a nice girl..
Just as he said this, Daryl, Carl and Oscar came back into the room from their search, and went back to their things, whilst Carl sat next to Beth and the baby, and Daryl headed straight for his little brother, placing a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Daryl knew how much Nate hated being away from Zoe for a long amount of time, and he knew that the kid was finding it hard, so all he could do, was be there for him, like Nate had done for himself so many times.. Nate nodded in appreciation, wondering if he was that easy to read as everyone could sense he was worried and agitated. He felt stupid at the fact he was being so silly, as everyone had been assuring him that Zoe could handle this run with Glenn, and he knew that, he just couldn't get rid of the constant worry that something was going to happen to her, and he wouldn't be there to save her..
A few minutes later, Daryl was shocked to see that Rick had entered the room once again, this time, looking much more sane than he had before. And the man headed towards his baby in Hershel's arms for the first time, before finally taking the baby girl in his arms, knowing that it was his, and nothing could change that. This was his child. Nate smiled at the sight and couldn't help but wish that Zoe was here to see it, knowing that she would have loved to see her father finally come out of the dark pit he was trapped in. It made him think, that maybe everything will be okay after all..
When Nate opened the door to reveal Rick, and an unknown woman passed out in his arms, he didn't know what to think, but let them in without question, shutting the door behind him as Rick laid her down on the ground. "She's not coming in the cell blocks." Rick said, as he lowered her down. Nate watched from behind Rick as the woman kept her eyes shut, looking incredibly weak, like something had happened to her before she had found her way here. The question was, how did she find this place? It wasn't obvious that a prison was here, with the multiple overgrown trees hiding the building in the shadows, it didn't make sense to him that she had found this place..
The second Rick started pouring water over her to cool the woman down, he asked her what her name was, only for the woman to spring up, attempting to grab her katana on the floor next to them, only, Nate had kicked it away, while Rick held her down once again, claiming that they weren't going to hurt her unless she tried something first. Nate couldn't help but keep her eyes locked onto the woman, as he didn't trust her, yet - the fact she had just randomly found the prison, didn't sit right with him. "Rick." He then heard his brother speak up, entering the room with a confused look on his face at the woman on the floor, "Who the hell's this?" He asked, upon seeing her.
Nate looked back over to Rick as he kept his hold on the unknown woman. "You want to tell us your name?" Rick then suggested, only for the woman to glare at him, keeping her mouth shut, not letting them know anything. Even when he repeated his words, the woman still kept her mouth shut, knowing that she wasn't going to spill anything.
When Nate looked back at Daryl, he could tell that he wanted to say something, "What's up?" He asked him, as Daryl motioned his head back towards the cell block. Rick also looked up at Nate's words, seeing Daryl motion towards the cell block, implying that something was in there.
"You're going to want to see this." Daryl finally revealed, starting to walk back into the cell block, Rick, Hershel, Carl and Beth also following behind, Rick having a word with the woman while everyone followed Daryl. Daryl locked the door behind them all as Nate followed closely behind Rick into the cell blocks, and the person he saw, was someone he never thought he'd see again. Carol, in the flesh, looking like she had been through hell and back.
Nate chuckled in surprise, holding his arms out as Carol stood up weakly, and he pulled the woman in for a hug, feeling immensely glad that she was alive and well. "Thank god." He mumbled into her hold, glad that the woman who helped his brother out of his shell was still alive. Nate knew that Daryl was probably over the moon that Carol was alive after all - the whole group had thought they had lost so much during the attack, and the fact that Carol was here in the flesh, had just made them all feel so much better, bringing more light to the situation.
It was then everyone else's turn to hug Carol, as Daryl explained where he had found the woman, but when Carol saw the baby in Maggie's arms, next to Beth, she looked back at Rick expectantly, wanting to know where Lori was and if she was okay, but Rick couldn't even look at her in the eye, giving her the answer she needed. Carol's hand was on Rick, her heart breaking in two at the fact her friend had died and she didn't get to look after her own baby - it was a horrible situation.. "Oh." Carol gasped, taking Rick's face in her hands, "I'm so sorry." She cried, before she eventually walked towards the baby, tears streaming down her face at the look of the little girl. At least something good came out of this..
Nate smiled at the small reunion, but it was soon replaced with stress, when he remembered that they had a stranger in the other room - someone who had found their sanctuary. His smile quickly faded, as he turned back to Daryl with a look, the man knowing what he wanted to do immediately. Daryl nodded, before the two then looked at Rick, who also knew what they were trying to tell him. They didn't have to say anything to him for him to know that they wanted to deal with this stranger, and find out what she knew - it was too dangerous, they had a baby to look after now, and they couldn't risk anything..
It wasn't long before Rick gathered everyone together once again, and they were all headed back to the main area, where the woman was now sat on a bench, still looking at all of the men with hostility, still not trusting them.. "We can tend to that wound for you, give you a little food and water, and then send you on your way." Rick spoke up first, standing in front of her as Nate and Daryl stood to the side with their weapons held. "But you're going to have to tell us how you found us." He added, knowing that they couldn't send this woman off without knowing how she knew where the prison was, first.
"And why you were carrying formula." Nate added, as Rick nodded at the man's words. The second Nate found out this woman had some baby formula, he didn't trust this woman, he wanted to know how she knew they had a baby, and why she bought it over to them.
"The supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy." The lady finally revealed, making Nate's heart drop at the sound of her describing Glenn, "With a pretty blonde girl." She added. Nate lowered his crossbow as he heard those words, as he instantly knew who the 'Asian guy' and the 'pretty blonde girl' were Glenn and Zoe. He knew that his gut feeling was somehow right, and he could just tell that something was wrong with Zoe and Glenn.
"What happened to them?" Nate pressed, now standing besides Rick as they looked down at the woman. Rick was equally as worried as Nate, as not only was that his daughter the woman was talking about, but another one of their family, Glenn. They couldn't loose anyone else.
"Were they attacked?" Hershel asked, the man now also standing.
"They were taken." The woman revealed, the words making Nate's heart drop; his worst fears coming alive that the woman he loved was in danger. He just knew that something was wrong, and he should have known that something would happen to her, he could just tell. Nate never wanted Zoe to go alone in the first place, as much as he trusted Glenn to be with her, he wanted to stay by her side when they didn't have the rest of their group looking out for them when their backs are turned.
"By who?" Rick asked, his stomach dropping at the woman's words - even if she was lying, she had managed to get their looks right, and she knew what they looked like, the fact that she knew they were taken, too, didn't sit right with him.
"By the same son of a bitch who shot me." The woman revealed.
Rick grunted in annoyance, now leaning down so he was face to face with this woman, if his daughter had been taken by someone dangerous, he wanted to know, he needed to know, and he didn't like that she wasn't telling them anything. This was his daughter they were talking about. "Hey, these are our people." He said, "You tell us what happened, now." Rick demanded, pressing his hand into her thigh which had been shot.
Nate raised his weapon back up again when the woman sprung up, "Don't. Don't you ever touch me again!" She shouted, pushing Rick back with such a force that the others didn't know she had it in her to do so.
"You need to start talking, lady. Or you're gonna have a much bigger problem than that man who shot you." Mate snarled, aiming his weapon at the lady, who glared right back at him.
"Yeah. You're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound." Daryl added, not liking the fact that Zoe had been taken, and this lady knew by who, but she wouldn't speak up. The thought of anything happening to that girl and Glenn, terrified him, as they were as much of a family to him as Nate was.
"Find them yourself." The woman snarled back, simply glaring down at Daryl's crossbow, not scared at all..
Rick could sense Nate's discomfort, and the anger radiating from him, so he quickly held up his hand to the two brothers, shushing them as he tried to calm down the situation so nothing got out of hand. "Put it down." He told the two brothers, as they obliged, before Rick began to pace in front of the unknown woman, "You came here for a reason." Rick said, trying his hardest to get the information out of the girl.
The woman looked around at their surroundings, before she eventually sighed, knowing that these people could probably help her now that their own people were in trouble. "There's a town, Woodbury, about seventy-five survivors. I think they were taken there." She informed them all. Nate sighed in annoyance at her words - that's seventy-five people they now had to go against to get Glenn and Zoe back, but either way, they were going to do everything they could to get heir family back, no matter what happened.
"A whole town?" Rick asked, shocked that there were so many people that could be living so close to them and they hadn't noticed before.
"It's run by this guy. He calls himself the Governor - pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type." She carried on, explaining everything she could to them, or, just the basics that could help her get her way with them all.
"He got muscle?" Daryl asked, hoping that he was simply a leader that was smart, without muscle, as then, they would have an easier time getting into Woodbury and getting Glenn and Zoe back.
"Paramilitary wannabes." The woman corrected, "Thdy have armed sentries on every wall." She said, just stressing Nate out even more than he was before - they barely had enough weapons and ammo to keep them going, how were they supposed to take on a whole ass town?
"And you know a way in, yeah?" Nate pressed, needing to know this information as soon as possible so he could get his things ready and go and get his girl and one of his best friends.
"Place is secure from walkers, but we could skip our way through." The woman told him, giving Nate some hope that maybe they could sneak in, get Glenn and Zoe, and head back out again. But then again, he wanted to murder whoever had put his hands on his girlfriend, the second he finds out who dared to take her away from him, was going to pay. He was already sorting out ways in his head, thinking of ways they could get into the town and get back their group members.
Rick still wasn't convinced that this woman was telling the truth, he turned to face the Dixon brothers with an uneasy look, implying that he didn't trust this woman. He turned back to her, "How did you know how to get here?" He asked her, wanting to know exactly how she had managed to find this place, as it was well hidden..
"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, said it was a straight shot," The woman instantly answered, knowing now that she had nothing to hide from these men.
Rick took a few seconds, but after he had throughout thought it through his mind on what they should do with this woman and if they should trust her, he eventually nodded. "This is Hershel. He's going to take care of that for you." Rick spoke up, motioning over towards Hershel. Nate instantly followed Rick, with Daryl close behind him, leaving Hershel alone with the woman to fix up her wound, as there was nothing she could do with that wound of hers, she could barely walk on her own. Nate wanted to know what their plan was, now that they had the woman to guide them to the town..
"So, what's the plan? When're we leaving?" Nate pressed, as Rick walked through the cell block, not knowing what to do just as of yet. He was worried, of course, that his daughter was in this strange town, and the fact that Glenn was there, too, but they couldn't just drop everything and head there without any knowledge on the town or the man running it. From what the woman had just told them, the town sounds well run, with lots of supplies, so none of them knew how tough it would be to get there, and how tough it would be once they get inside, and he couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt, or worse, killed.
"Let's just gather everyone around first and work out a plan." Rick finally spoke up, not wanting to anger Nate with his words as he knew how attached the man was with his daughter.
Nate scoffed, not believing his words, "Zoe and Glenn were taken to this town, and you want to take your time?" He asked the man, following closely behind before he grabbed the man's shirt to stop him. "We should be getting ready to leave, we should be focusing on getting them back." He said. He couldn't believe that Rick wasn't taking this situation like he was - this was his daughter they were talking about, surely he didn't want to loose his wife and daughter in this short span of time?
Rick turned around and sighed, "We need to prepare before we go there, we have to scope the place out, find a plan of action - this isn't something we should be rushing into. We'll do them no help if we're dead." He almost snapped at him. He didn't like being accused of 'taking his time', as he was simply being safe and making sure no one would get hurt during this time - he wanted his daughter back more than anything, and hated the thought that she might be in danger, but again, they couldn't do anything if they all just rushed in their blind. They needed a plan.
And with that, Rick rushed away, knowing that he had to start planning things through, leaving Nate in a strop with his older brother. Daryl sighed at the look of Nate, knowing that now, he had to watch him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid and rational, without planning things through first. He had never seen his brother like this with anyone other girl before, and because of that, it made him the most dangerous person to mess with.