1—Welcome to Hilltop pt. 1

Just one more time before I go,

I'll let you know,

That all this time I've been afraid,

Wouldn't let it show,

Nobody can save me now no,

Nobody can save me now...

~Battle Cry; by Imagine Dragons

It had been about two weeks since Alexandria had been reclaimed by its residents. All the bodies had been gathered, piled just far enough outside the walls to burn. The streets had been cleaned of all the blood. Houses were collectively inspected for any walkers that they might've missed. For all the people they lost during the Walker Invasion—that was the given nickname of the situation—whether or not the bodies had been recovered, there was some kind of service held and crosses were placed in the now larger-than-it-originally-was graveyard.

Needless to say, even though they relished in their newfound strength, they still mourned over those who didn't make it.

But the Alexandrians—who no longer found it necessary to make it seem like they were any different than Rick's group—felt as if they needed to come up with something to make their new way of living official. A motto.

A promise.

So, while working with Rick on the matter, they came up with what everyone found to be a necessary motto for themselves and for anyone who sought Alexandria to be their new home.

"Mercy for the lost. Vengeance for the plunderers."

Aibileen and Daryl laid in their room, Francesca in her crib just outside. After the whole incident with the walkers had been handled, and after she got medical attention for her head, Nathalie had informed her of why her house had been in such a disaster. A group of men with Ws carved into their foreheads had invaded Alexandria while they were leading the Pit walkers away, which was why the horn had gone off.

"They killed your father," Nathalie said solemnly. "They would've killed Francesca and I if your father hadn't held the man off. I knew you had guns stored around the place—I found one near Francesca's crib and used it to kill the man."

Despite the negativity that Aibileen felt for her father, there was still a moment where she did cry. Lorenzo was her father, whether she liked it or not. So when she found him as a walker, locked up in one of the closets, she nearly lost it. Daryl had to finish it off.

"Ya saved Francesca's life," Aibileen said, tears filling her eyes. She held the infant close to her, trying so hard not to squeeze the life out of her. "I don't know how I can repay ya."

"There's nothing to repay." Nathalie tried for a smile. "You're my daughter, she's my granddaughter. That's what family does."

So, once a new front door had been in place and all the blood and gore had been cleaned up, Aibileen and Daryl tried to reacquaint themselves with their home. It took a bit to get used to it, especially after what Nathalie told them, but they managed. And, once they were used to their house again, decided to christen their house in the best way they knew how.

"Your head ain't hurtin'?" Daryl grumbled, tightening his arms just a fraction around Aibileen's waist.

She shook her head, burying her nose in the crook of the huntsman's neck. It was a little white lie—occasionally she'd get a dull ache, but she wasn't going to start complaining about it.

Daryl shifted so he was half sitting, Aibileen was laying on her back, using the sheets to cover herself.

Brushing some of Aibileen's hair out of her face, Daryl tried to see if she was lying. He sighed, tucking some of her hair behind her ears. Only a few days ago, she had gotten her hair cut—her hair had been just a little past her shoulders when they first arrived at Alexandria, she had it back to its usual pixie cut, but her bangs were longer than they usually were.

Instead of saying anything else, Daryl leaned down and kissed her, which she returned happily.

The kiss came to a stop when Francesca started whining. "I'll get her," Aibileen sighed. Throwing on whatever clean clothes she could find, she walked out to where Francesca's crib was and picked her up.

Daryl came out a little later with whatever clothes he could find on, helping Aibileen take care of Francesca.

"Rick was talkin' about goin' on a run soon," the huntsman said.

"We're already low on supplies?"

"Just a few things." He shrugged. "Nothin' big."

"Could I come with y'all?" Aibileen looked at Daryl hopefully. She hadn't gone on a lot of runs in the past two weeks, mostly because Daryl didn't want her to. He didn't want her reinjuring her head. When a look was thrown her way, Aibileen scowled. "My head doesn't hurt! Denise said it wasn't that big of a cut."

"It was big enough to get stitches," he murmured, taking Francesca from her after she was taken care of.

"But it's been two weeks," she exclaimed. "There's no infection or anythin'. I don't even have headaches!"

When Daryl wouldn't give in, Aibileen let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, could ya at least let me talk to Rick before y'all leave?"

Rick knew about the encounter Daryl had with those people in the burnt forest, and he had been told a brief story about the family Aibileen encountered in the woods near Alexandria. So, after two weeks, when Aibileen went up to Rick and said she wanted to tell him a little more about them, he was ready to listen.

"They said they were runnin' away from this group," she said, "the Saviors, or whatever. From what they said, they ain't messin' around when it comes to people who disobey them."

"Do you know what happened to them?" Rick asked.

"They let me go," she sighed, "right as some of those guys found them. Beat the holy livin' shit outta them. Found 'em a couple miles down hangin' from a ledge."

"Hanging?" Rick's brows furrowed.

Aibileen nodded. "Beat the shit outta them then strung 'em up." She shrugged. "Didn't even give them a fightin' chance."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rick nodded. "We'll double the watches," he said. "If they're that dangerous, we can't risk them coming here."

Author's Note:

Sorry if this chapter was too weak! Let me know what you think. I won't be able to update as frequently as I did with 'Silhouette', if that's OK with you guys. Just let me know what you think! I'll try and make future updates longer than this one, but I can't promise it.

I own nothing in TWD universe, all I own are my characters and my fillers.

If you've got any ideas for this story, let me know! I love hearing the ideas you guys have! Leave a review or a PM, whatever you prefer.

Leave a kind and helpful review, please!

Thank you.

Susan Strong