in a dark meadow | daryl dixon

find a way

word count: 7457

warning - spicy scene!

"Andrea,"

Avery gasped, the sudsy utensils falling from her hands and clattering into the sink. The blonde woman had timidly entered the cell block, and Avery gawked at her, as if she had materialized out of thin air.

That morning, Avery ate her bland breakfast after everyone had already finished. She'd slept in, resting more soundly than she had in days with Daryl on the floor beside her. 

She hadn't completely forgiven him for what he'd done - it was hard to when her brain continued to remind her that he'd left her for a douchebag like Merle Dixon. She just needed more time.

She pushed her oatmeal around, wishing for a teaspoon of cinnamon as she ignored Merle's provoking when he had made himself comfortable in the seat next to hers. 

Daryl wandered through the room twice while she ate, shooting his brother warning glares each time. Merle would back up each time, hands raised, before muttering something about his brother 'being whipped.' Eventually, Michonne walked into the room and began light floor exercises, redirecting Merle's taunting.

Avery brought her emptied bowl to the sink to wash when Carl flew through the cell block doors from his watch post. She raised her eyebrows, slightly alarmed as the boy searched for his father. 

Him and Rick, along with Daryl, Merle, and Michonne rushed out into the courtyard, ordering the others stay inside. 

Avery's heart thudded in her chest. Was the Governor already back?

But it was Andrea, their old friend, that entered the cell block minutes later, closely escorted by Rick. 

The blonde woman's gaze fell over their discrepant living conditions, biting back a light gasp. The interior of the prison was just as bleak as the exterior, a harsh downgrade from Woodbury.

Then her eyes fell on Avery, who rushed forward and happily embraced Andrea. They hugged, emotionally greeting one another - it had been a year since they got separated on the farm. 

But Avery's warmth could not meld the ice in the room, as the others stood idly by, watching with stone faces. Carol stepped into the room, pulling their long lost friend in with her own hug, but Andrea's warm welcome would end there.

"Hershel, oh my God-?" Andrea gazed upon his missing leg in horror. 

There were hundreds of questions at the tip of her tongue, and she didn't know where to start. She took inventory of the faces surrounding her, noting that a couple were missing.

"Where's Shane?"

That was a name Avery hadn't heard in a while, but the mere mention of him made her shoulders tense. She discreetly looked over at Rick, who answered Andrea's question with a simple shake of his head. 

Andrea went down the list, each name more painful to hear than the last.

"T-dog? Lori?"

Carl's eyes went downcast at the mention of his late mother, and Rick could not meet Andrea's eyes to respond this time.

"She had a baby girl. She didn't survive." Hershel's voice eventually combatted the heavy silence. 

Andrea's face fell.

Carol shifted her weight to her other foot. "Neither did T-dog."

"I'm so sorry," Was all she could say.