CHAPTER 1

- KATE -

It had been a long morning out in the prison yard with not much to do but wait and worry. A few hours had passed since Rick had led Daryl, T-Dog, Maggie & Glenn into the inner gate of the prison.

The rest of the group stayed in the yard that they had cleared the day before.

"This is going to take forever." Carl whined.

"How do you eat an elephant?" Hershel joked. "One bite at a time."

Carl grinned. "I wish I could eat an elephant right now!"

They laughed, despite their hunger, before looking back at the prison.

"What is going on inside those walls?" Lori worried, absentmindedly rubbing the front of her belly.

Kate and Beth sat Indian style on the grass, taking in the surroundings and talking about things before the turn: movies, music, food. If it wasn't for the fact that they were filthy and only several feet from creatures waiting to tear the flesh off their bones, you might think they were two carefree girls enjoying an afternoon in the sun. A few feet away, Carol sat next to Lori, the two women talking in hushed tones. Kate imagined they were discussing Rick and Lori's deteriorating marriage. The last few months they had had little privacy, moving together from house to house, staying quiet, searching for food and running from walkers. It was a rare opportunity to get to speak to someone without the others within earshot.

Hershel and Carl walked the perimeter several times, waiting for the first sign of their group to emerge. Finally they heard the scraping of metal on cement as Glenn pushed the sliding door entrance to one of the buildings open and stepped out, squinting into the bright sun. Maggie followed closely behind. At first they all froze, afraid of what Rick, Daryl and T-Dog's absence meant. Kate's heart felt like it had dropped into her stomach, but almost immediately they knew all was fine because Glenn was grinning ear-to-ear.

"Get the stuff. We're moving in," he shouted. "We cleared a cell block. Rick, T and Daryl are dragging out the last of the walkers now."

They all scrambled up. Kate and Carol helping a very pregnant Lori to her feet. They went to the truck and filled their arms with their few belongings - backpacks holding whatever necessities they had managed to find while scavenging houses and their bedrolls. Glenn led the way into the pitch black of the prison, a small flashlight dimly lighting their path. Fallen walkers littered the narrow hall. It was eerily quiet. Eventually though, they could hear Daryl and T-Dog and, soon after, Glenn opened a door to a sort of common room.

It was filled with a filmy light that streamed in from narrow, barred windows that reached to the top of the high ceiling. The room held a guard tower on the wall opposite the one they just came through and two metal octagon shaped tables with four seats cemented around each. On either side of the door there were empty cages. Glenn continued down the few cement steps, crossed the common room diagonally and opened the steel barred door leading to the cells.

They walked into the narrow room single file. It was gray and filled with debris. Daryl was throwing the last remaining walker off the top level. It landed with a loud thud on the cement below before T-Dog grabbed it by its legs and started dragging it to the door. The cell block was long, with two levels of small cells lining the left side, seven on top, seven on bottom and windows on the right. About two thirds down the block was a set of stairs leading to the landing above and a second set going back down where there was another steel barred door. A large "C" was painted in black on either side of the room.

"What do you think?" Rick asked as he headed down the stairs.

"Home sweet home." An exhausted Glenn replied as he headed towards a cell.

"For the time being." Rick returned.

"It's secure?" Lori looked questioningly around the room.

The look on Rick's face as he eyed his wife went from satisfaction to irritation and maybe even resentment.

"This cell block is." He replied curtly.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.

Rick laid out his plan. "In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary."

Kate headed up the stairs to find a relatively clean cell. She thought she might feel safer up there. She passed Daryl on the landing, he had pulled a bunk mattress out of a cell and onto the floor. He was making himself comfortable, muscled arms kneading at the thin mattress.

"I ain't sleeping in no cage." He said to her as he folded his arms behind his head and stretched out his legs. She smiled at him and peered into the closest cell. There was a narrow bunk on the right hand wall with a plastic covered mattress the color of hospital scrubs. On the left there was a couple of metal shelves, a filthy toilet and a small sink. Neither were operable. She threw her bed roll onto the bottom bunk and her backpack up top. She sat on the mattress with a sigh and looked around. Blackish blood was smeared on the opposite wall and she could see some more on the bars. This place definitely needed some cleaning, but they could handle that. A little smile appeared on her lips as she thought about how Rick had said they could make this place a home. She was thinking he might be right.

She must have dozed off because when she heard Rick call out for them to all gather in the common area, her cell was pitch black. She stood up and started feeling her way to her pack to grab her flashlight.

"You need a light?" Daryl's gruff voice filled her cell at the same time his light did. She quickly found her's and turned to him.

"Thank you." She smiled and clicked her light on and off before following him out and down the stairs.

Out in the common room, Rick stood near one of the tables, a camping lantern they had found a few weeks back illuminated the room in a yellow bath of light. Maggie and Glenn sat closely on the steps by the door to the yard. Hershel, Beth and Carol occupied the seats at one table with T-Dog, Carl and Lori at the one closest to Rick. Kate crossed the room and sat next to Beth. Daryl chose to lean against the guard tower, crossbow still at his side. Carol started passing around a jar of half finished nuts and a stale bag of crackers. It wasn't much, but it was something and they had a roof over their heads.

Rick started, "Tomorrow, a few of us will continue deeper into the prison. Hopefully find food and supplies. Those of you staying back can start cleaning up the living quarters. I know we don't have water or cleaning supplies yet, but we can get all this junk out of here. Hershel and I were talking, we agree it would be wise to have a guard up in the tower each night. At least until we know we are secure. We figure two shifts a night. Everyone should get enough sleep that way."

Everyone shook their head in agreement. Hershel stood.

"Rick asked me to put together a schedule. For the time being, I've gone with three teams of two. You will alternate every third night. You can decide amongst yourselves who takes first watch before switching for the night. Maggie and Glenn, you'll get tonight."

If Hershel noticed the playful glance the two exchanged he didn't let on.

"Tomorrow night, T-Dog and Carol. Night after, Daryl and Kate."

Kate turned her eyes towards Daryl and smiled. He didn't smile back, but held her stare a few seconds before looking down. Rick dismissed them and everyone headed back to their cells to spend the first night in their new home. Kate watched as Maggie and Glenn left the block, each dragging an extra bunk mattress and their bedding. She had no doubt they were looking forward to the privacy a night in the tower would provide.

As she laid down in her bed that night she thought about her new home and the people she shared it with. She was so thankful for Rick and his leadership. After the Randall incident at the farm, they all realized that people in this world were capable of terrible things. She was so lucky she was with a group lead by a man with morals, who would fight for his family - which she believed now included her. She trusted him completely and knew he took on a great burden that he didn't ask for.

Lori and Carol both brought some stability to the group. They tried to keep a sense of home to wherever they ended up. Both had been dealing with heavy issues. Carol with the death of Sophia and Lori with her pregnancy and the fall out she and Rick had been experiencing since Shane's death, but they still worked hard for that feeling of normalcy. Kate didn't have as much in common with them as she did with Maggie and Beth, but they were the ones that brought her into the group back on the highway the night Atlanta was bombed and she would always be grateful.

Hershel was one of the best men she had ever known. A wise man who had earned everyone's respect easily. Kind, devoted to his family, moral and tough as nails when it came down to it, he took their group in and provided food and shelter at one of their most desperate moments. The medical experience he had made him invaluable - a luxury she was sure few had in the world these days and the man himself was such a comfort to everyone.

She and Glenn had made fast friends back in camp at the beginning of this all. He and she fell into their friendship naturally and he kind of filled the role of a brother for her - here 3,000 miles away from her own. He was funny and kind and these days you couldn't get enough of either.

Beth and Maggie had become her closest confidants. Not that there was much to confide when they were all practically living on top of each other. But on the days when she missed her family so much the tears couldn't be held, it was them that she talked to about it. They also could spend hours talking like girlfriends do. Getting all the good info about Maggie and Glenn or talking about things they missed from the past.

T-Dog was a big softie. He had one of the biggest hearts and was so considerate. He was always up for whatever they needed. If Kate was having a rough day, T always picked up on it and would check in with her. Sometimes just getting her mind off of it by telling some story or joke he knew.

And then there was Daryl. Lately she had realized she was feeling differently about him and she was still trying to sort out what that meant. Things were different now. Simple crushes seemed frivolous and distracting. There wasn't time to indulge in silly school girl antics when people were dying, food was scarce and everyday was a fight to survive. Still, she was only human and watching Daryl go from an angry outsider who everyone gave plenty of space, to the man he was now, had been moving. His kindness and loyalty came as a surprise to everyone as it slowly emerged during their days on the Greene farm. The months on the road after they fled confirmed that everyday. He was clearly Rick's go-to man, someone to be trusted, the one they all counted on for food and protection. The one that would always go that extra mile when everyone else was done. Do the jobs no one else would do. It was like he was constantly having to prove to himself and everyone else, that he was worthy. That if he didn't belong, he could at least earn his keep.

When she first met Daryl, back at the camp when she had followed Shane, Lori and the Peletiers from the road, she was immediately put off by him and his brother Merle. She was ashamed now about how she felt, but they seemed like they were no good, redneck trash. Merle was the talker and all that came out of his mouth was profanity laced racism and sexual remarks. They both drank, smoked and didn't seem to want to be pleasant to anyone. She wondered often why they stuck around at all. She kept her distance from them both, thankful that Shane was there to keep everyone in check. She felt safer. How ironic considering how that all turned out now.

But somewhere between that rock quarry and the fall of the farm, she began to see him. If she was honest with herself, it wasn't just his transformation. She would find herself distracted by the rope-like muscles in his arms, his broad shoulders, his gravely voice and that pissed off gait of his. The very last person who would think that Daryl Dixon was attractive was Daryl Dixon and that made him even more so.

Despite all of this, she tried her best to push these feelings aside. There was no place for that in this world and she was quite sure Daryl would never return her feelings.

Kate fell asleep, glad to spend what she hoped would be the first of many nights in their new home. They had a lot of work to do, but for the first time in a long time she felt hopeful.