VILLAINESS [TWD]

➴20

Ellie was doing everything she could and some things she couldn't.

The group was fortifying the church before the trip to Atlanta. Ellie questioned Rick why that was necessary considering a herd hadn't come through in the days they've been shacked up there.

She also questioned who would be dumb enough to leave the church when they were split up.

Rick simply handed her more wood to take oitside and help board up the windows.

She stayed by Noah while they worked. She liked him. He told her about how Beth saved his life. How Beth talked about Ellie. How strong Beth was considering all she was going through.

It felt like a dream that they were talking about Beth to begin with. Ellie feared it was another one of her nightmares and she'd wake ip to a cold reality where they didn't know Noah and Beth was still missing.

As it came time to pack up, Ellie seperated from Noah long enough to pack her bag.

"How come you're going but I can't?" Carl questions, leaning against the doorframe.

Ellie runs her thumb over Matt's gun with a gentle smile before putting it in her holster. She shoots Carl a dirty look.

"What? Now you want to talk to me?" she asks as she zips her bag up.

"No," Carl frowns.

Ellis rolls her eyes. "I'm going because it's my family. You have to stay here to protect your family."

"It's my dad going out there. He's always the one putting his neck on the line for your family."

Ellie didn't like his choice of wording.

She puts her bag over her shoulder, angrily walking out the door. Before she's out, she knocks her shoulder into Carl's. "And yet my family died for yours."

--

Rick let Ellie sit in the passenger seat of the van that Daryl brought back. Daryl drove since he knew the best way to go.

She felt antsy and impatient as her legs bounced. She sat at the edge of her seat, peering out the window like she could drive with her eyes.

"If I hit the brakes too fast, you'll fly out the window," Daryl informs.

"Then, don't do that."

Daryl huffs an idea of a laugh. He glances to the young girl and his chest clenches.

"She's waiting on us. But, you gotta stay calm, too, Ellie."

"You said it, though." Ellie looks over at Daryl. A smile breaks across her face. A smile she hadn't had since the farm was still standing. "She's waiting on us."

"Well, she don't know. She just knows Carol is injured and Noah got out."

"But, she knows that where there's a Carol." Ellie's hands open, motioning from one side to the other. "There's a Daryl."

Daryl scoffs.

"And where there's a Daryl." Ellie's hands point inward to herself. "There's the rest of us."

"Not all," Daryl mumbles to himself. He didn't like that Maggie and Glenn left. Things would be so much better if they were here. Maggie deserved to know that Beth had been found.

"I never got to thank you," Ellie remembers.

"Thank.. me..?" The words didn't add up to Daryl.

"You got out of the prison with her. You helped make her stronger. Now, you found her. You're leading us back together." Ellie smiles that optimistic grin again. "So, thank you, Daryl."

Daryl's throat felt clogged. He was grateful for the Greene family. They didn't judge him like others. They always made sure that he knew he was seen and heard.

But, Daryl needed to repay that favor.

"I never.." he clears his throat. "I never got to say that I'm sorry."

Ellie's lips go into a line and she shrugs. "I'm okay."

"Maybe. But.. I know what it's like for him to take something from you. I'm sorry it went down like it did. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

Ellie didn't speak to Merle Dixon when he was alive but on one or two occasions.

She was afraid of him and he knew that. But, he was.. nice.. enough to not push that boundary.

If you asked Merle, he didn't try speaking to Beth and Ellie out of respecr for Hershel. The elder man had picked at Merle's walls and found an idea of a human behind the smart words and bad choices. Merle that Hershel was a good man. He didn't want the two youngest girls to get the wrong idea, so he kept his distance.

Ellie just knew that Merle nearly took Daryl away from them. Then, they came back together and Merle was like an annoying fly that Daryl, Rick, Glenn, and others had to deal with.

Merle Dixon went on a one man run to try and kill the Governor long before the worst day of Ellie's life.

He'd made a large dent in the Governor's numbers as he killed multiple soldiers. He nearly killed the man himself until something went wrong and the Woodbury people found him.

If you asked Ellie, Merle died a noble death. He wasn't the best man. He wasn't even a good man. But, in the end, he sacrificed himself for a bigger cause.

Considering what the Governor took away before and after Merlr's plan, Ellie couldn't blame him. If anything, she felt a little thankful for the deceased man.

"I'm sorry, too," Ellie decides.

Daryl gives her another look and Ellie gives him another smile in return.

Daryl nods and turns his attention back to the road. "Things are gonna look up from here."

"I know."

"Yeah?"

Ellie looks at the road, too. "I trust you, Daryl. If you say it's gonna work, then it's gonna work."