The woman directed her son to go away and pee, trying to shield the boy, once again, from the horrors of this world. The truth… Her whispers were so quiet that Michael barely heard her words but the more he listened and the more he tried the more he understood. The lone tear at the end of it all cinched his understanding and whatever sympathy he had left. “Oh…Jesus, I’m so sorry.” Mike’s eyes softened and he looked over at the boy. He was so young that it wasn’t surprising he didn’t understand it all but then, if he didn’t come to this knowledge soon he might perish himself. “I can’t imagine…”

She'd narrowly avoided running into them face to face after witnessing what they'd done to an older gentleman they'd happened across. Her stomach rolled and she put her hand to her mouth. She felt like throwing up at only the memory.

"We could look for them together?" Sammy piped up excitedly. "Maybe my Daddy is helping our your sissies. Right, Mommy?" He tugged at her arm as he repeated the question. "Right?" 

Instead of giving him any direct indication of her decision, Julie continued to talk with Charley, “Of course, unless they’ve been bitten or are a danger to the group as a whole Terminus doesn’t turn away newcomers.  Everybody here has been through enough shit with those things out there, so there’s no reason to add to their problems.”

After a few minutes of conferring with Charley, Julie turned back to Rodney and he found himself relieved to see she didn’t seem angry with his offer, although he found something almost passive aggressive about her next comment. “Why don’t I show our guest where the showers are and you can get Laney to help you clear a place for her to sleep.”

She shoved her hands into her pockets. "I guess I could wash my clothes out while I shower. They'll be wet, but if you have a towel, I can stay somewhere quiet and alone while my clothes dry." She ached for the little bit of belongings that she had to leave behind at the prison. Her picture of Sammy and Evan were among them.

He followed her when she offered for him to tag along. He could use the company any way. He’d been on his own for quite a while lately, and even though he liked the quiet, he wouldn’t mind a conversation with someone other than the dead.

"No. No. That's okay. You've been traveling. I'm sure you're tired. Your feet must be sore." She didn't miss that part of being on the move at all. And she only suspected that no one really came to this house because she never changed the way the outside looked. She never cleaned up the yard. She didn't want to broadcast that there was someone that wasn't the living dead staying there.

After a couple meters, Rick looked back in the rearview mirror and caught Charley looking back at him in that same mirror. Her voice was earnest, wanting to know everything would be alright; this way had to be better than the last one right? There couldn’t be herds everywhere, surely. “I’m sure this way will be clear. Once they start moving they keep going in a given direction until another sound changes their direction, grabs their attention. The place we’re going is exactly the opposite from where the Walkers were headed. We’ll be alright.”

They continued driving, taking the 102 exit, making the curve as the exit took them away from the interstate. It was all quiet and Rick didn’t see any sign there would be blockades up ahead. They just might be lucky, for once, this time around. “Yeah…thank God.” He murmured low, not sure what to believe in anymore. He’d never really believed or prayed and yet he never fully disbelieved either. He was in a state of tentative adjustment, trying to believe because then it would mean there was something good left for them somewhere and unsure because of what all he’d seen.

Charley sat up again, something she'd never allowed Sammy to ever do, and pointed off to the side. "Whatever you do, don't go off road here. We'll be stuck for sure with all that rain we got the past few days. We'll muck up and far as I know there isn't a tow service in business since Hell done come to earth." 

Plastering her face with a forced smile Emily turned to her daughter.  ”Libby, I think you need to go help your sister, she’s going to have trouble carrying everything.” as soon as the little girl had bounded out of the room, she turned back towards the stranger.  ”You know, if you want to cry I’m not going to judge you.  Everybody in this camp has been through some horrible things, both before and after the outbreak.  It doesn’t help to hold it in.” Emily paused before continuing, “Look at me, I’m barely thirty five and I’ve got too many gray hairs to count.”

She looked up meeting her eyes and gave her a slight smile. She nodded. "Sometimes I think that is all I do is talk about him," she admitted. "It just hasn't gotten any easier." But what could anyone that wasn't a parent themselves know about losing a child?

Julie let go of Rodney’s hand and stepped forward to greet Charley. “Rod seems to think well of you.  Normally he tries to play tough and hide that he’s just a big teddy bear.”

"Well she needed help." Rodney found himself almost blushing.  Normally he wasn’t like this, especially around people he wanted to make a good impression around, but Julie comparing him to a teddy bear made him feel awkward and uncomfortable.  He hoped Charley wouldn’t judge him to be weak in his girlfriend’s presence, but in a way maybe he was.  After all, he’d felt guilty when offering her the room without asking Julie first.  Now, despite his years campaigning to become senator and all the charisma he thought he’d had he wanted nothing more than to shrink into the shadows and leave the two women to talk.  Still, he knew Charley would be more comfortable around him than around Julie so he couldn’t just leave.

She returned her attention to Julie and said softly, "I was likely to have passed out straight away had he not helped me inside and offered me a drink. I could never repay all the kindness I've already received, but I'd like to try and help earn my keep. If you should let me stay..." She chewed a little at her fingernail again. Dirty old habit that it was. 

"If ya mix them together it works pretty well. I only do that when I’m a place for a couple of nights so I can store the extra, but it’s nice ta have company." He turned away from her for a moment, in a way to help build the trust between him, but also out of curiosity. He took in his surroundings. It had been a nice place once. A family had lived here, loved here.

"Found this place after. About a month or two after." She had to swallow again, clearing her throat before she spoke again. "The family that lived her was still here when I found it. Buried them out back..." She pointed toward the back of the house. That had been slow going, but it gave her closure for Evan and Sammy. Somewhat anyway. She'd want someone to have done the same thing for her and them had it been the other way around.

"I’m sorry.  I don’t know what they’re fighting over this time…" pausing the examination she walked over to the door…"Can you two stop arguing please?"  After a few minutes of trying to negotiate with the children, Emily was able to send Frankie, the older of the two off to retrieve the honey for the stranger’s lips.  However, Libby followed her back into the shed and perched herself on a hospital bed opposite the other woman without waiting for permission.

"Hi, I’m Libby…what’s your name?  Do you have a family?  My friend Amie has a mommy but no daddy, my daddy says the deadheads got him."  

Her panties were simple cotton. Same with her bra. She barely had anything to cover anyway. But as the door opened and the doctor and one of her daughters entered the room, she suddenly felt even more exposed than she truly was. She covered herself slightly as the child began to rattle off question after question. 

Her Sammy had been an inquisitive youngster, and she missed him terribly. Her eyes pricked with unshed tears. Her lips gave a slight quiver. "No. It's alright. It's not their fault that they want to know everything. It's how we grow." She managed to lean forward slightly so that her feet were on the floor, steadying her. 

Pausing to reassure Charley before walking away he spoke, “You’re in safe hands now.  I have something to take care of right now.”

As soon as he entered the courtyard it took mere seconds to find the mane of fiery red hair that defined Julie, his girlfriend.  He immediately felt a pang of guilt for offering the room to Charley without first asking her.  It had been over a year since she had been raped, but he was still extremely protective of her and knew he’d move heaven and earth if it were necessary to make her feel comfortable, and now in a moment of weakness and pity he’d invited a stranger into their private dwelling.  Julie, however seemed understanding and listened as he explained Charley’s situation and how he’d offered her their spare room.

She brushed her dirty hair back out of her face. All she wanted was a place to clean up and to sleep. She wasn't even hungry anymore. Her lips felt a thousand times better with the thinly applied layer of honey to her dry, cracked lips. She moved toward the medical bay doors, not feeling threatened to stay put.

Of course losing one’s child had the ability to bring about a different persona, an ability not found under any other circumstances…

“Then what are we waiting for. Let’s get going and get it done.”

Rick’s hands tightened a bit on the wheel. It was easy for this woman, who’d come from being alone majority of her time out there, to come into the prison and pretend to be interested in community but with the sharp bite in her tone, the former Sheriff was certain the former school teacher was more concerned with her own well-being than theirs as a collective. “That’s the plan, Charley.” Rick said just as curtly, trying to get her to open up or calm down a bit more than she was. It just so happened they were all in knots over what they’d seen but keeping a level head about it was the only thing going to save a body in the thick of things.

All she could do was pray silently that this way wasn't going to prove more difficult than the other route. She chewed at the inside of her cheek, keeping her eyes focused and ever moving. They needed all the eyes they could get making sure they weren't going to get boxed in. A second would give them a leg up. A chance to make it out.

Her eyes locked on Rick's in the rear view mirror. "This way has got to be clear. Right?" She held her breath then as they pulled out onto the 102. So far so good. Her heart hammered a little less rapidly. It was clear as far as she could see.