Sheriff's Lover ||| Rick Grimes

31 ~ Chat

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You ain't nothin' but a liar

Yeah, I walk right out the fire

Yeah, you try to keep me down

Try to put me underground

But I'm only going higher

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TW: Attempted self-harm, mentions of suicide, hinted SA mentions.

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Elaina sits next to Maggie at the dining room table.

It's mid-afternoon.

Rick and Shane took the Randall kid 18-miles-out.

Elaina is healing up nicely. She winces slightly when she stands up but other than that, she's okay.

Beth is depressed. At least they think she is. She's out of the shock phase but hasn't left her bed longer than a few minutes each day.

Maggie is taking it roughly. She's been through a lot. Elaina gives her a quick hug, letting her know that everything will be okay eventually.

It wasn't.

Beth tried smuggling a knife from her lunch tray. Thankfully, Lori took it away, but it didn't matter anyway.

Beth has now locked herself in the bathroom.

Lori, Maggie, and Elaina stand outside the door. Glass shatters from inside.

"Beth?!" Maggie screams.

"Beth, listen to me, your life matters. Please, don't do this." Elaina says through the door.

Lori shakes her head. "God, I left her with Andrea."

"Beth! Beth, please just open the door." Maggie says.

Suddenly the door opens. Beth stands on the other side, tears in her eyes. Glass from the mirror surrounds her feet. She's gripping her wrist, which is dripping blood onto the floor. "I'm sorry."

The two Greene sisters hug and Elaina quickly wraps a cloth around Beth's wrist, once they separate. She looks to Maggie. "We need Hershel."

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Outside on the porch, Andrea walks up.

"I heard. Is she alright?"

Elaina crosses her arms. "She would've been if you had stayed with her."

Lori nods, glaring at the blonde woman. "Where were you?"

Andrea rolls her eyes. "How bad is it?"

"It wasn't deep." Elaina replies coldly.

Andrea grins. "She wants to live. She made her decision." She tries to walk inside but Elaina holds out her arm.

"She tried to kill herself." Maggie spits.

"No, she didn't."

"My father is in there stitching her wrist right now."

"She'll live." Andrea says.

"I think it's best if you stay away, Andrea." Elaina says.

Andrea scoffs and walks away.

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"I told you-"

"You told us shit!" Daryl shouts at the boy.

Randall is back. He's currently being held in the barn. Rick and Shane took him away, but Randall recognized Maggie, hence, would know how to get back to the farm.

Now, Elaina and Daryl stand in the barn with him, trying to pry information about his people from him.

"I barely knew those guys. I met 'em on the road." The kid says.

"How many are in your group?" Elaina asks, taking an intimidating step forward.

He mumbles something incoherent, so Daryl gets in his face. "How many?!"

"Thirty. Thirty guys."

Daryl and Elaina glance at each other. She crosses her arms. "Where?"

"I- I don't know! I swear. We were never anyplace more than a night."

"Scouting? Planning on staying local?" Daryl asks, squeezing the boys leg where it was impaled on the fence.

He grunts out in pain. "I don't know! They left me behind."

Elaina rolls her eyes, pulling out her gun and crouching down beside the boy. She puts it to his head.

"Okay! Okay. They have weapons. Heavy stuff. Automatics. But- but I didn't do nothing!"

Elaina huffs.

"Your boys shot at my people, tried to take this farm. You just went along for the ride? You're trying to tell us you're innocent?" Daryl asks.

Elaina rests her finger on the trigger. The kid is sweating profusely. "Yes! These guys took me in! Women, children. Just like you people. Thought I'd have a better chance with them, you know?"

He takes a deep breath. "But... we go out scavenging. Just the men. One night... one night we came across this campsite. A man and his two daughters. Teenagers, you know? Real young."

Elaina feels her mouth go dry as she makes eye contact with Daryl again.

Randall continues. "Real cute. Like you." He says pointing at Elaina. She narrows her eyes at him, pushing the gun deeper into his temple.

"Their daddy has to watch... as these guys, they- and they didn't even kill him after. They just made him watch as his daughters-- they just-just-- just left him there. No, but-but-- but I didn't touch those girls."

Elaina stands and so does Daryl. They walk to the side of the barn. Randall is still shouting. "I'm not like them. You have to believe me!"

"I don't like this kid one bit." He mumbles to her.

She nods, shivering slightly at the remembrance of the situation at the bar. How that Tony guy kept staring at her body. It gives her flashbacks to Brent from work.

How disgusting that man was. She reported him many times for sexual harassment but since he was a man, nobody cared.

She snaps back to the present and shakes her head. "We need to talk to Rick. Figure out what we're gonna do with him." Daryl nods.

"But for now..." She says, walking over to the boy. She takes the side of her gun and smacks it against Randall's head, knocking him out cold.

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The two make their way back to the oak tree where the rest of their group stands around talking tensely.

Rick pauses at the sight of them. Daryl has bloody knuckles. Elaina's gun also has blood on it. She grinds her teeth, thinking about that group of men.

Daryl sighs. "Boys got a gang. Thirty men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here; our boys are dead."

Elaina nods. "And us women? We're gonna wish we were." She says colder than she intended.

Rick motions toward her gun. "What did you do?"

Daryl shrugs, answering for her. "Had a little chat."

Rick glances at her stoic face. "No one goes near this guy."

He starts to walk away and Dale grabs his arm. "Rick, what are you gonna do?"

"We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?"

"It's settled. I'll do it today."

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