#twotowers

"And he is part of that group?" Sarah asked, turning to Glenn next to her. He nodded quietly in response. Sarah eyed her friend; he was pale and acting quite strangely. Did something else happen out there? But it seemed like Rick had told them everything. So what could be wrong with her friend? She could only turn to Maggie. The girl was standing not far from the table, and her eyes were observing Glenn as well. So Maggie had also noticed something was off.

"But we couldn't just leave him behind; he would have bled out," Rick explained. "If he lived that long."

"What do we do with him?" asked Andrea from next to Shane.

That was a good question, for sure.

"I repaired his calf muscle as best I can," Hershel said, making his entrance into the living room. "But he'll probably have nerve damage." That didn't sound good at all.

"Is it permanent?" Nicki asked from next to Sarah.

"No," Hershel answered, shaking his head. "But he won't be on his feet for at least a week."

So, this Randall guy couldn't leave for a week, but what then?

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, and send him on his way," Rick said to try to reassure them, but Andrea frowned.

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" That was true, too. How could someone survive alone? Sarah wasn't sure that it was the right choice, but she wasn't sure making him stay was the right choice either. She really felt confused.

Suddenly, the sound of the door being opened made Sarah look up and see Daryl entering the room. She saw him nodding shyly towards Carol, and then his eyes met hers from across the room. Sarah felt her lips turn up in a little smile, but he diverted his gaze, laying his back against the wall to listen to what the others were saying.

"Just gonna let him go?" Shane was asking, "He knows where we are."

The way he said that actually worried her. He was implying an attack. Fighting, shooting. Her eyes moved towards Nicolette; was her sister in danger? Were her friends in danger?

"He was blindfolded the whole way here," Rick argued back. "He's not a threat."

That group had shot at them, though, with no apparent reason. Why would they attack someone without being threatened if they weren't dangerous? She felt her hands shaking.

"Not a threat. How many of them were there?" Shane chuckled mockingly. "You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come looking?"

What were they getting into? They were in the middle of an apocalypse for God's sake, now they were going to have a war with another group of survivors?

"They left him for dead," Rick argued back. "No one is looking."

"We should still post a guard," T-Dog suggested, and Sarah felt her eyes going wide as her hands kept shaking. They were not in a fortress; that was a farm. And they were a large group, but what if those men outnumbered them? She must have been shaking visibly because, at some point, Nicki took her hand, squeezing it. Her sister wasn't looking to her, she was observing the people around her, focusing on the words they were saying. She didn't seem scared. She was doing her best to understand what was going on.

"He's out cold right now. Will be for hours," Hershel said, probably trying to make some kind of peace.

But it didn't settle well for Shane. "You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy," he mocked again, starting to make his way out of the room. "Look at this, folks. We are back in fantasy land." Sarah turned to Carol, who looked down at her hands resting on her lap. That was uncalled for.

"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet," Hershel snapped, stopping Shane in his tracks. "Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all... This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor... Keep your mouth shut." Sarah bit her lip as she observed Shane glaring at the man. The anger was visible in his eyes. Hershel didn't falter, though, holding his ground. They stared at each other for some moments, but at some point, Shane decided to walk back and slowly he left the room.

After that, they all started to get up from the table. Sarah didn't immediately. She was still caught up in what had been said and what that implied. What was happening to the world scared her, not only the dead walking and eating people, but now even real people attacking others. She wasn't ready to face it. She couldn't let Nicolette face it.

Sarah took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart, but she didn't feel better at all. She needed to get her mind off of things; she couldn't keep thinking about the possibility of a war. Maybe Randall wasn't like those people. Maybe he wasn't a threat. Maybe they were overreacting.

"I'll train for a little bit," she heard Nicki say as she stood up. "You okay?"

At her question, Sarah nodded, humming quietly. She could feel her sister's gaze on her, but she didn't look up.

"What are you going to do?" asked Nicki again. "Today?"

Sarah took a breath. "I think... umm..." she said. "I think I'll go fix the car and... maybe help with Beth later."

"Alright," Nicki said, "I'll see you later, then."

"Later," she answered, trying not to sound too worried, even if she wasn't sure she was managing. She stood where she was for some moments before finally deciding to move. She needed to go on normally. That's what she had to do.

And trying to think positively, she was back inside the wooden garage, bent over to try and fix the car. She was quite proud of her work there; the battery seemed to work, even if Sarah wasn't sure how long it would last. She had oiled the pedals and the gear shift. She had smiled when she saw three pedals for the first time; she remembered her father. He loved to drive, and he was really passionate about cars and she remembered how bothered she was when he insisted for her to learn how to drive both with automatic transmission and with the gears, she didn't understand why, blaming his father obsession with driving. She wondered what he would think about her learning how to fix such an old car. She just hoped he would have been proud of her and what she was doing. The whole of it.

"Hey," Glenn's voice made her turn with a surprised expression.

"Hi," she said, pushing some hair that had fallen on her forehead and back.

"Dale told me you'd be here," he said, almost trying to justify himself.

"It's not a secret I'm here," Sarah answered to reassure him, and her words made him nod silently.

"You okay?" she asked, observing him pacing the room with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah," he said, not quite surely. Sarah hummed as she rubbed her hands with a rag.

"You're overthinking, sir," she said, trying to make him smile. "You need to talk?" She knew that it must have been scary for him, trying to survive all night, afraid of not coming back.

Glenn was biting his lips, deep in thought. She had never seen him like that.

"I froze," he said at some point as Sarah waited patiently for him to go on. "They were shooting at us, and I froze."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "That's understandable." She could just imagine being shot at, and even in fantasy, it was not a nice feeling.

"I wasn't scared for my life," he said, turning to her.

Sarah frowned a little, not understanding. "Okey...?" and he went back to pace around the room like he was trying to find the right words.

"Maggie said she loves me."

"Really?" Sarah's eyes widened in surprise, and a little smile appeared on her face. "Today?" She had seen how Maggie had been worried all day.

But Glenn shook his head. "Yesterday," he said, "Before I left with Rick," but his expression was strange; he should be happy.

"And what's with the face?" she asked with a slightly confused frown. Then Glenn turned towards her with wide eyes.

"I froze, Sarah," he argued back, but that only confused me more.

"I can imagine," Sarah answered, nodding her head. Hearing someone other than your family saying that they loved you was always a shock.

"Not with Maggie!" Glenn said, stepping towards her. "Out there!"

Sarah put her hands on her hips. "I'm confused." Glenn took a breath, moving to sit on an old table on the side of the room. He sat with his forearms on his tights, head hanging down. Sarah observed him for a moment, he was really troubled, so she out down what she had in her hands against the car and then she walked to him, sitting next to him quietly. Glenn needed to talk, she knew, but he was also confused, so she let him gather his thoughts.

"Have you ever loved someone?" Glenn asked at some point.

"I... once I thought I did," Sarah thought back at her ex-boyfriend; his name was Peter Mills. They were in the same year in high school, he was a nice guy, he played basketball. They talked sometimes since her friend Lucy's brother was on the team, too, but they started talking in science class. They had been paired up for a project, and it had been so easy to start dating. They had the same sense of humor; they did so many things together, and all her friends were over the edge for her. Peter had been very important to Sarah, but the day he had told her that he loved her, she didn't find the words to say back; they didn't seem honest, and it had been easy for her. Nor for Peter.

"But when he told me, I didn't say it back," Glenn turned to her as she spoke, a bittersweet smile on her face. "It lingered for some time, and until it was unspoken, I was sure I loved him too, but... when he spoke it out loud," she shook her head. "Don't ask me why, but... I couldn't bring myself to say it, too."

They were talking about college and what they would have decided to do after high school. Peter wanted them to go to the same college, and during that discussion, he dropped the bomb. Of course, after that discussion, they broke up.

Glenn observed her. "Maybe you were scared."

"Or maybe I didn't love him, like I should have,," Sarah said, turning to Glenn. "But I don't think that's what happened to you, right?"

She leaned towards Glenn, who bit his lips before shaking his head.

"No one ever told me before, and I freaked out," he admitted. "But when Maggie told me... I know I feel the same." Sarah smiled. It was unbelievable that the two of them had met with everything that was going on and that they shared such feelings. She wondered what that was like, she saw how Glenn looked at Maggie and how the girl talked about him, she wondered how it was like to feel such a strong feeling for someone that went behind like or care.

"Then why are you sitting with me, and you're not with her?" Sarah asked curiously. "She was really worried about you?"

Glenn took a deep breath. "We can't do this."

Sarah frowned. "Do what?"

"I... When I was out there..." he stopped, getting anxious. "And those people shoot at us... I could only think of Maggie and how she would feel if I died and..."

"You froze," Sarah finished for him, now understanding what he meant when he entered the garage.

Glenn was a good guy; always thinking about everyone else's feelings and needs. He was probably the most selfless person she had ever met and that made him so special. But she didn't agree with him.

"When we talked about Maggie," Sarah said, "I told you not to be stupid about this. Why are you being stupid about this?"

Glenn shook his head. "Listen-"

"No, you listen," Sarah said, turning her body towards him. "This world is shit. This life is shit. We're living on the edge; we are losing people, and that's not right." Her mind went back to Amy and her smiles, at Sophia hugging her mother or playing with Carl. She thought again about who they had lost, and that almost brought tears back to her eyes.

Everything we do will affect the group.

"We can rely only on the group. You don't do anything else than worry about us. You always want to help us," Sarah kept saying, "But that's not right, too."

Glenn silently listened as she went on.

"You have the chance of having something that many people have lost, or probably they will never find. Don't do something you'll regret, Glenn," she said, hoping that he would consider her words. "If you love this girl, you shouldn't let her go."

Glenn observed her with a torn expression. He knew he loved Maggie, but he felt so responsible for the group that he was trying with all his heart to push it aside. That was honorable on his part, but it was also stupid. But Sarah decided not to push any further. She stood up and kissed him on his hair before smiling down at him.

"Take your time," she said. "But think about it."

She saw him nod his head, biting his lips.

"Alright," he muttered.

The next days had been eventful for the group.

They were all worried about Randall, and the possibility of that group coming looking for him had terrorized everyone, so when he finally seemed to be getting better after the surgery made on his leg by Hershel, Rick, and Shane decided to take him far from the farm by car and leave him somewhere. During that day, though, Beth's condition seemed to have gotten worse. Apparently, the girl wanted to commit suicide, and Sarah came to know that when she and Nicki entered the kitchen to see Lori and Andrea quietly staring at the floor, and Maggie and Beth could be heard from upstairs.

"She wants to do what?" Sarah exclaimed, looking instinctively at the ceiling.

"Beth had taken the knife and hidden it under the covers," Lori explained, and Sarah could not help but think about Maggie and what she must have felt, knowing that her little sister wanted to do something so terrible to herself. Nicki was leaning her back against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, and her expression was hard.

"Where's Hershel?" asked Lori at some point, and Andrea let out a heavy breath.

"He doesn't want to find out yet," she said, but Sarah shook her head.

"That's insane," she exclaimed, still listening to Maggie and Beth argue, "We should go find him."

"It's a family affair," Lori said. "We'll let them work it out."

"That's working it out?" Andrea asked sarcastically, and Sarah could not help but think the same. She was sure that it was better for Maggie to have a backup from her family.

"When Beth stops fighting, that's when it's time to worry," Lori said, walking towards the table.

"There's a reason to start worrying, alright," Nicki muttered, looking towards the stairs.

"This could've been handled better," Andrea said after a moment of silence. Once again, Sarah agreed, and to her, the best thing to do was to go to Hershel.

"How so?" asked Lori curiously, but what Andrea said after made Sarah frown. "You shouldn't have taken the knife away." Lori's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" but Andrea didn't stop.

"You were wrong like Dale taking my gun. That wasn't your decision."

"Here we go again," Nicki said, shaking her head, earning Andrea's glare, a glare Sarah had already seen the woman give to her sister. But Nicolette didn't seem bothered by that.

"She has to choose to live on her own," Andrea said. "She has to find her own reasons." 

"She's got reason," Nicki said back.

"Still, it's in her hands," Andrea insisted. "If she's serious, she'll figure out a way." 

"Then that means that she is rather a coward, or she is stupid," Nicki said coldly.

"Nicolette," Sarah reproved her. Beth was making a mistake, but she was traumatized and terrorized; she just needed someone to make her think. She needed someone that made her feel safe.

"That's what I think," Nicki said simply, making Andrea scoff.

"Always judging people," she said. "That never changes."

"So, you can say that we should make a test and see if Beth kills herself, and I can't say that to me she is making a stupid decision?" Nicki argued.

"This is beyond the point!" Sarah exclaimed, "Beth needs help."

"And she needs to know that we care," Lori said, backing up Sarah, but Andrea glared at the woman.

"That has nothing to do with it," Andrea said as they all were missing the real point of the matter. "She only has so many choices in front of her, and she believes the best one is suicide."

Sarah could not believe that to Andrea, the fact that a girl of sixteen wanted to commit suicide was totally normal. She didn't know if she felt rather confused or angry.

"That's not an option," Lori said, but Andrea's blue eyes widened.

"Of course it is. She doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"A loaded gun, maybe?" Lori answered. "You'll understand if I don't send you in there." Andrea's expression was shocked, and Sarah knew that they would have to start a real fight.

"I came through it," Andrea exclaimed.

"And became such a productive member of the group," Lori said almost sarcastically as the both of them stopped talking, eyeing one another.

"Alright," Sarah said, trying to calm the two of them down. "I think that none of us know Beth, and we should let her family handle this."

"Yeah," Lori said, nodding her head, but Andrea spoke again.

"I contribute. I help keep this place safe." Sarah saw Nicki roll her eyes before Lori answered.

"The men can handle this on their own. They don't need your help."

"But they need a child's help," Andrea said mockingly, looking at Nicki, who just glared.

"Can you stop acting like that to my sister?" Sarah asked, unnerved.

"I cannot believe it," Andrea said. "Everything falls apart; you're in my face over skipping laundry? But you let a child go around with a bow."

"I help with laundry," Nicki argued, but then Sarah turned to her sister.

"Nicolette," she shushed her before turning to Andrea. "You don't get to talk to her like that; Nicolette actually helped; your biggest achievement was shooting at Daryl."

"And what is your achievement?" Andrea glared at Sarah, who shook her head.

"I'm doing my best," she said. "I clean, I cook, I try to help everyone and stay positive. I will not stay here listening to you bitching around at me or my sister or anyone else just because you can fire a gun."

After that, Sarah stormed out of the kitchen. She didn't like to get angry, she didn't like to raise her voice, but all of that situation was really getting out of hand. The apocalypse, what they did at the barn, all the people they had lost. She really didn't need Andrea's rude words. Sarah took a breath before walking towards the old garage to work a little bit more on the car.

"Where'r ya going?" Daryl's voice made her turn. He was walking towards the house from his own little camp, frowning since she was so far from where the others were.

"Oh, hi," she said as he made his way towards her. The weather was getting colder, and they all started to put on warmer clothes. The same was true for Daryl, who was now wearing a long-sleeved jacket and a leather vest.

"It's getting colder for you too, uh?" she said, making him frown a little.

"What?" but Sarah shook her head with a little smile.

"Nice vest." Daryl looked down at himself, and then he looked up, biting his lips, adjusting the crossbow behind his back.

"What's wrong with ya?" he asked, pointing at her face, and Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

"Just a little argument with Andrea, it's alright," she said, starting to walk again towards the garage, but Daryl spoke again.

"Ya shouldn't wander around." At his words, Sarah looked back at him with a little smile.

"I'm not wandering around," she said, gesturing her head towards where she was going. "You want to see?"

The two of them silently walked towards the garage and when they entered, Sarah saw Daryl frown in surprise, looking around quietly.

"What ar' ya doin' in here?" he asked.

"I'm fixing the car," she said, pointing at it, making the man scoff as he walked towards it.

"Are you making fun of me?" she said with half a smile, observing how he was looking through the car window.

"That's garbage," he said, but Sarah shook her head.

"That's my project," she answered, leaning against it. "I want to fix it."

At that, Daryl frowned again, taking another look inside. "You'll be lucky if it reaches 5 miles."

"That's exactly my goal," Sarah said, nodding her head, but that confused him.

"Why?" Sarah shrugged her shoulders again.

"I've always liked fixing things," she explained, looking at the car. "I don't know why, but I do," she laughed to herself, making him frown curiously. "I've always helped my father around the house with those things; I would always try and fix things: sinks, broken cups, or shelves. And I thought... That fixing a car could help."

Daryl observed her silently as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So ya wanna fix cars now?"

"Once I'm able to fix this, I'll be able to fix anything," she exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. "Believe me, I'll be able to fix your motorbike."

"Ya ain't gettin' closer to ma bike," he said with a little smirk that made her laugh, raising her hands.

"As you wish, sir," she said as she tied her brown hair up before opening the dusty hood of the car. Even though they got quiet, Sarah could feel Daryl's eyes on her, and that made her blush a little, even if she couldn't understand why. Daryl always observed everyone.

"Yar doin' it by yar self?" as he spoke, Sarah almost jumped; she wasn't expecting him to talk again.

"Um... mostly," she said before smiling again. "But Dale often helps me."

Daryl scoffed. "Tha' man's RV's always broken."

"But he always makes it start again," Sarah answered before noticing Daryl take his crossbow off his shoulders and get closer.

"Ya, lemme take a look," Daryl said, taking the torch from Sarah's hands and pointing it to the motor, slowly examining her work on the car. Sarah's eyes observed the man and his attentiveness as he moved his free hand through wires and bolts. He seemed used to cars, and Sarah wondered what his life had been like before all of that. The only things she knew about him were that he had Merle as a brother, he came for Georgia, he knew how to hunt, and he got lost in the woods as a child. She wasn't sure how he would react to her asking, though. He never seemed keen on talking about himself or his life.

"How am I going?" she asked, getting closer. At her movement, Daryl looked up from what he was doing.

"It's not tha' bad," he said.

"You're impressed?" she asked, almost hoping that his answer would be positive.

Daryl just scoffed, amused, letting out a little laugh and making her smile. They looked at each other, and Sarah liked to see that soft side of him. She liked to share those moments with him. It felt strange because she knew he could be grumpy, but his presence had become somewhat comforting. 

They were looking at eachother's eyes in silence, and Sarah could feel the blush appear on her cheeks, but she could see that he was getting shy as well. In fact, he bit his lips, diverting his gaze, but then he nudged her playfully, making her giggle, then moved away with a little smile.

"Lemme see what ya did to tha brakes," and Sarah nodded happily as she watched him.

Sarah and Daryl spent three hours inside that garage, looking and fixing the car. She was extremely grateful to the man who would give her tips and advice, and it had been so peaceful that they both had no idea of the time that had passed by so fast. They figured it out when the door opened, making a loud noise almost scaring them, but they both took a breath of relief when they noticed Nicolette enter.

"Knew you were here!" she said heavily; she must have been running there.

"What happened?" Sarah asked, "Is everything alright?"

When Nicki shook her head, it almost caused Sarah to have a heart attack. What the hell happened?

"Beth cut herself." At Nicki's words, Sarah's eyes widened.

"What?!"

"Yeah," Nicki said, "Andrea left her alone; she closed herself in the bathroom and cut her wrist with a broken glass."

"Is she alright?" Sarah asked panickedly, but when Nicolette nodded her head, she felt relieved.

"Maggie is so angry with Andrea," Nicolette kept explaining, and Sarah didn't find it hard to believe. If that had happened to Nicki, she had no idea what she would have done to Andrea. "Beth is alright now, just scared. I don't think she is going to try that again. But that's not why I'm here."

"What happened?" Sarah asked again, afraid that something would happen.