𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲; 𝐭𝐰𝐝

𝟒𝟐

rory

when i woke up daryl was gone and my cell door was cracked open. sitting up, i pull a shirt on. i make my way outside my cell, beth had brought the twins out.

"you're awake." she smiled widely at me. i nodded and made my way over to playpen.

"mama!" elowen squeals. i smile and pick her up.

"you guys are getting so big!" i pick up evie, placing the two on my hips.

"wanna go outside? yeah, you do!" evie and ellie babble absolute nonsense. i difficulty make my way outside, just to see rick, carol, t-dog and daryl driving the cars inside.

"alright, let's get the other cars in. we'll park them in the west entry of the yard."

"dada!" everest claps her hands at the sight of daryl. she starts to wriggle in my hands, wanting him.

"good, our vehicles camped out there look like a giant "vacancy" sign!" he sighs, taking everest in his hands.

"after that, we need to load up these corpses so we can burn them."

"it's gonna be a long day." t-dog shakes head.

"where's glenn and maggie? we could use some help." carol asks.

"up in the guard tower." i snicker, knowing what they're doing.

"guard tower? they were up there last night!" i look to the top of the guard tower.

"glenn! maggie!" daryl yells up. i watch as glenn rushes out, pulling on his pants and he has no shirt.

"yeah! what's up!"

"you coming?" daryl yells up.

"well now he's not." i mutter, making rick laugh.

"what?" his eyes widen in fear, causing us to all laugh.

"you comin'? we could use a hand." daryl yells back up.

"yeah, we'll be down in a minute." we all start to walk to the cars when i see axel and oscar walking over.

"hey rick." i nudge him, pointing to the two prisoners walking over to us. ricks face goes hard and the laughter stops.

"take her please." daryl hands everest off to carol, carol had no problem. but everest was not happy.

"dada! da! da!" she began to scream, carol bounced her on her hip.

"that's close enough, we had an agreement." rick places his hand on his gun.

"please mister, we know that. we made a deal." glenn and maggie show up standing in front of me and carol, shielding the twins from axel and oscar. "but you gotta understand! we can't live in that place another minute, you follow me? all the bodies, people we knew! blood, brains everywhere! there's ghosts!" he did have a point, i don't know if i could do that.

"why don't you move the bodies out?"

"you should be burning them." t-dog adds onto what daryl had to say.

"we tried! we did!" axel looks to oscar for help.

"then fence is down on the far side of the prison. every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. so dump in a body and run back inside." he said

"look! we had nothing to do with thomas and andrew, nothing! you trying to prove a point? you proved it, bro! we'll do whatever it takes to be a part of your group, just, please, please, don't make us live in that place!" i kinda felt bad, but not enough to let them sleep around my children.

"our deal is not negotiable. you either live in your cell block, or you leave." oscar kissed his teeth and looked to axel.

"i told you this was a waste of time. they ain't no different then the pricks that shot up our boys. you know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? just threw 'em out like..." he stopped, taking a breath. "those were good guys! good guys who had our backs against really bad dudes, people like thomas and andrew. now we've all made mistakes to get in here, chief, and i'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me... we paid our due. enough that we would rather hit that road, than go back into that shit hole."

rick looks to daryl, who shakes his head no. he had taken everest back into his hands at some point and she had fallen asleep on his chest.

"sorry fellas." i watch as rick pushes them out and closes the gate, daryl locking it.

"come on dude!" he ignores axel, walking back to us.

"you want them living in a cell next to you? they'll just be waiting a chance to grab our weapons, you want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?"

"i never stopped." t-dog shrugged. "bring them into the fold. if we send them packing, we might as well execute them ourselves."

"i don't know, axel seems a little unstable." glenn says.

"we're all a little unstable. it's the apocalypse." i say.

"after all we've been through? we've fought so hard for all of this, what if they decide to take it?" carol wonders.

"it's just been us for so long," maggie starts. "they're strangers. i don't... it feels weird all of a sudden to have these other people around."

"you brought us in." t-dog gives maggie a questioning look.

"we showed up with a shot boy and pregnant chick, didn't really give them a choice." i tell him, and watch as daryl bounces evie slightly in his arms.

"they can't even kill walkers!"

"they haven't had to! i don't think we should bring them in, but that's a bullshit excuse. they didn't know about anything until two days ago." i tell glenn.

"they're convicts! bottom line!" carol yells.

"those two might have less blood on our hands than we do." t-dog shrugs.

"i get guys like this. hell, i grew up with them. they're degenerates, but they ain't psychos. i could have been with them just as easy as i'm out here with you guys." daryl pats the back a everests back lightly as he rants.

he's hot as a dad-

"so you with me?" t-dog asks.

"hell no! i got priorities, people to protect!" he motions to everest and then elowen. "let 'em take their chances out on the road, just like we did!" aww.

"what i'm saying daryl..." t-dog was cut off by rick.

"when i was a rookie, i arrested this kid. nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. the kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trail, suckered the jury. he was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and two weeks later he shot another girl. we've been through to much. our deal with them stands." rick shakes his head.

"i'm gonna take them inside. brought them outside to get fresh air, but now they're asleep." i tell daryl. i go to take everest but he shakes his head.

"i'll help you."

"it's fine- i got it."

"just let me help you woman. goddamn." he shakes his head. i huff and we walk inside together. beth had moved the playpen into her room.

"i'll be back in like, twenty minutes. can you take them for a little?"

"of course i can! i loved to." she smiles widely. i lay them down, covering them with a blanket.

i actually kinda liked axel, i was sad when he died.