I do not own The Walking Dead.

Previously:

Faye took some steps back and leaned against the inner fence, head facing down to the ground with her eyes squeezed shut as she breathed deeply once more. The overwhelming noise of the growls was gone, but the echoes still bounced around the child's head. Glenn moved over to her. "You okay?" He sounded slightly out of breath himself. At her wordless nod, Faye guessed he assumed she was merely tired after the ordeal. He patted her shoulder firmly. "You did good."

'Good' didn't stop her returning to hide in Carl's arms later that day.

"Smile!"

Daryl squinted his eyes as the girl clicked her camera, the flash a surprise. "What you takin' pictures for?"

With crossed legs on her bunk, Faye ignored the question and flapped the piece of paper that emerged from the camera. She didn't know if that made the process faster or not, but continued regardless, pouting as it appeared. "You didn't smile!"

"Ain't no model." He replied, leaning against her door, and Faye didn't tell him that was what Michonne had said. She'd only nipped back to her cell to pick up the pictures she had taken so far when the man had appeared at her doorway. The girl made a mental list of who she had left to take photos of. It was quite a few.

Faye put the picture on her lap. "What's going on?"

"We're putting all the kids and all the old guys in quarantine. Need you to go with 'em." He answered.

"Quarantine?"

"Council decided ya'll are the ones who could get sick easiest so we're separating you into the administration building." Daryl continued. When Faye opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off quickly. "There's no fightin' on this. It's the best we can do to stop it spreading any further. I need you to be there to keep an eye on everyone and I'll know you're safer. Carl's gonna be there too."

The girl huffed. "So, I'm gonna have to look after a bunch of kids? Who, by the way, hate me now."

"Lizzie 'n Mika don't hate you. Just be more… delicate with them." He responded.

"I don't think I'm a very delicate person." Faye flopped back on her bed. Damn. She'd have to pack her things again. "Carol told you?"

"Yeah, she did."

Interesting. So, Carol tells on you, but you can't tell on her?

"You know I'm right. They're stupid, and they're gonna die if they stay that way." She waved her arm in the air. "And Carol's trying to teach them self-defence but I don't think it's helping 'cause they don't understand what they're supposed to be killing and it's so frustrating-"

Daryl shushed her. "Carol's teaching them 'bout weapons?"

"Yeah." Faye said. She decided not to regret telling him. "That's what Story Time is. The parents don't know."

The man pressed his lips into a thin line before he said anything more. "I'll talk to her about it another time, wasting daylight now. Pack up what you need and head over to administration."

Well, someone's feeling lenient today.

The girl sat back up. "You're not going, why do I have to?"

"'Cause you're younger and if we leave you out here you could get sick. You've already been exposed too much to be safe, I'm not putting you at risk any more than you already are. "

"I could get sick in there too." At the stare she received, Faye didn't continue the line of thought. Daryl didn't seem to be in the mood. "You're important too. Why aren't you coming?"

"Me, Michonne and T-Dog, maybe a couple others if we can find 'em, are headin' out to a college to look for meds."

Eyes lighting up, Faye's fingers slid through the sheets on her bed. "Can I come with you instead?"

Daryl sighed. "No."

This wasn't fair. Daryl knew she was perfectly capable of handling herself and he still wouldn't let her go! He was being ridiculous. Not only could she take care of herself, she was helpful, too! How was another pair of hands to get more medicine for their people anything but useful? "Why? I can help, you know I can."

"It's not as simple as that." The man stepped further into her cell and crouched in front of her. He always did that. It was getting old. "I dunno how many walkers there'll be, or if we'll see people. Too much stuff I dunno."

"We don't know any of that stuff on any run or hunt we go on and now we've got more people with us. How is this worse?"

He answered easily, which only succeeded in frustrating the girl more. "I've got more people to keep an eye on, can't focus on you."

"You don't have to keep an eye on me."

"I do." Daryl said, and Faye couldn't ignore the fierceness in his voice. "Always gotta keep an eye on you."

She wouldn't win this one. "I don't wanna be locked up in administration. I wanna go with you."

Daryl stood up once more, knowing the discussion was almost over. "Not this time, kiddo. I'll be back in no time. Pack your stuff and head to administration block. If you're quick, you can come help me set up the car."

A battle lost. "Alright."

Faye's backpack was too small. Carl had a good one; a big, vibrant, orange one. It wasn't very subtle, but it was large. It was certainly more practical than Faye's little one. The girl didn't quite want to be rid of it though. The amount of time they would be staying in isolation was uncertain, so she wasn't quite sure how many things she would need, but the majority of clothes she had brought were in her hands, rather than on her back.

As she entered the building, she saw some of the others confined in it too. Some elderly she recognised, some younger ones too. Specifically: Lizzie and Mika. Faye would have to confront them at some point; Carol would no doubt rope her in to assist in making the meals for everyone and it would be impossible to avoid the sisters then.

Confront? Some might say you're looking for a fight.

She would speak to Lizzie and Mika.

Carl wandered into her view.

She would speak to Lizzie and Mika if Carl didn't take up her time. Which she couldn't say was a bad thing.

The boy shifted his hair from his face, the action reminding her of the fringe clouding her eyes, unmovable due to the items filling her hands. His own eyes met hers and the small smile that grew on his face made her face heat up. Faye returned the expression, but luck failed her as Lizzie too entered her field of vision and seemed to suspect the look was directed at her. The blonde appeared confused, and attempted to smile back.

This was so weird. The kid spoke to walkers and she told her she would die and now they were smiling and it was so weird.

The older girl's attention was brought back to Carl once more as he nodded towards a set of doors, no doubt wanting to leave the room of children. Not that the prison had an abundance of children, but there were enough to at least annoy the elder two. Faye met him at the doors and he spoke the moment they couldn't be heard by anyone in the room. "Finally. You took ages."

"Sorry, I was talking to Daryl." She replied, matching Carl's walking pace. "Speaking of Daryl, I'm only dropping off this lot and going back to see him before the group leaves. Where're we going?"

If Carl was bothered by her ditching him, he didn't show it. Faye knew he'd be grumpy about having to stay in isolation, but they could make it work for a while. As long as neither of them got sick. "I grabbed a room before people went around; we can just hang around in here."

"Have we got enough bedding?" She asked?

"Maybe." Carl put his hands in his pockets. Definitely grumpy. "There's enough to sleep with, but it might not be comfy."

"I'll grab some more when I'm back later." The two arrived at the room, which was an old office. Considering they were in the administration block, this was hardly unexpected. Carl had already laid out some of his things, but the amount that remained in his bag showed he wasn't happy to settle here. Faye put her things down by the wall opposite where her friend sat down, but left the camera in her backpack. She could grab a picture of T-Dog, or whoever else ended up going on the run and a close up of Carl, too, later. Putting the bag over her shoulder again, Faye raised her head to see Carl sagged slightly against the wall, pouting.

"Are you going right away?" Faye wiped her hands on her jeans with a nod, sweaty from covering them with clothes for so long. As cute as he looked, she wanted to see Daryl before he left.

"God, you gonna miss me that much you can't last an hour?"

"A whole hour?"

"Suck it up, Sheriff, go patrol the streets." His expression was too cute, she decided, and reached back into her bag a final time and before he realised quite what she was doing, Carl had another photo snapped of him. Faye ignored his objection and grinned at the picture; although it was at an awkward angle due to the carelessness when taking it, Carl's grouchy face was clear. At her giggle, Carl threw a comic he must have brought at her.

"I'll arrest you if you don't quit doing that."

Faye shrugged, replying with a sing song voice. "Well, isn't that a bummer, I'm already in prison!"

"I hate you."

"I'll see you later."

Faye jumped as a hand placed itself on her shoulder. "Boo."

"Don't do that, T," The girl brushed the hand away. "Scared the crap outta me."

She wondered for a moment if T-Dog would scold her for the swear, but the girl then figured he wasn't one to talk; she'd heard him curse a dozen times. The man grinned his usual wide grin. "Just keepin' you on your toes. How you keepin' up?"

"I'm not ill so far, so pretty good. You?"

"I'm in good health," He said. "But not everyone is, so off we go back to college again."

Faye had to presume that was a joke, but she'd never been to college and didn't think it was a hugely funny thing in general. She shifted her jacket in a weak attempt to get more air. It was surprisingly hot today. "Who else has gone down with it?"

"Glenn." As he said the name, Faye grimaced. It must be hard, Glenn's T-Dog's best friend. What would she do if Carl got sick? "Sasha too, last time I heard. But that's all I've heard."

There wasn't a whole lot of good that she could say here. Tyreese must have been distraught, after losing Karen and Sasha coming down with an illness that was killing their people so soon after. "Two people's better than everyone."

"That it is." T-Dog picked the conversation from the ground and dusted it off. "You know what we haven't played in a while? I spy."

"I'm bored of I Spy."

"Twenty Questions?"

"Alright, hit me."

"Are you an animal?"

"Yes," She smiled. She wondered if, by choosing herself, that counted as an animal. But she was human, and humans had hearts and lungs and eyes like any other animal would, so she went with her gut. "One."

"How many legs do you have?"

"I don't think you know how Twenty Questions works."

T-Dog shook his head. Michonne and Daryl came into sight, the two stood by a car. "Right, right. Do you have… two legs?"

"Yes." She smiled sweetly. "Two."

Daryl nodded to them as they approached, and Michonne smiled as she heard the game. "So, you're someone in the prison."

Leaning against the car, Faye replied. "Yep. Three."

"Hey! That didn't count, that wasn't a question."

The girl held back a giggle with a grin like his own. "Well, I answered it."

"I say that's cheating."

"I say I'm right." Smirking, Faye snuck a glance at Michonne, who smirked right back at her.

The woman spoke up. "I think the girl's right this time."

"Hate to break this up," Daryl said as he opened the car's bonnet. "But T, can you go let Bob know we're gunna need 'im. Maybe look for Tyreese too, he's a good guy to have around. Faye, come 'ere."

T-Dog nodded in confirmation and before he left, Faye remembered to quickly snap a photo of him sporting the smile he always did. Faye went forward to stand with Daryl as the man took of his jacket, and she supposed if Daryl did that, then it was okay that she was too warm as well. Daryl finally spoke. "See how much fuel we got." If he was testing her, he should really pick a harder question. Unscrewing the cap of the fuel tank, Faye pulled out the wire and looked closer.

"'s not full. Three quarters full, about?"

"You know where we keep it?"

"Bottom of Tower Three, like always."

"Go grab some, then."

Michonne perked up. "I can get it." She said. "Give you two a while to talk."

"Nah," Daryl said, motioning for Faye to replace the cap before she went. She did so. "It's you I wanna talk to."

The woman faltered at this, and the two adults waited until they thought she could no longer hear them, but they waited a little too soon. "I'm glad you're here." Daryl said.

"Where else would I be?" Michonne countered.

No eavesdropping. Eavesdropping was bad. And rude. Andy would have nipped her for it.

(Andy did that, justifying it as 'brotherly love to help build her moral character'. At the time, she wasn't quite sure what that meant.)

If their conversation went the direction Faye thought it was going in, the girl was grateful that Daryl was having it with Michonne. Faye didn't put her words perfectly, and neither did Daryl, but when they came from an adult they must mean more. Plus, her attempt had already failed, and the hunter once went on runs with her, so maybe they had a better friendship? Faye wasn't sure. What she did know was that Daryl was convincing, and Michonne needed to stay with her people.

Since Carol had apparently gone on a run with Rick, it was Maggie who assisted in preparing food for those in the Administrations Block. The two worked in a comfortable silence since Maggie seemed too deep in thought to carry too big of a conversation. The warmth of heating the food made Faye wipe her brow, and she was relieved to return to the cooler privacy of her and Carl's 'den'.

The child walked into the room, two plates of food in her hands, to find Carl sat, cross-legged, against the wall, head buried in a comic book. He looked up to see her with expectant eyes and Faye realised he'd probably been waiting some time for food. After passing him a plate, Faye sat her own down on the desk to give herself time to arrange her own bedding. It wasn't evening yet, maybe late afternoon, but Carl seemed satisfied with how he was seated and Faye wanted that too. "I'm surprised you didn't come and get some yourself."

Carl smirked. "I was patrolling the streets."

Faye raised her eyebrows in turn. "And grabbing the best bedding!"

"Hey!" He protested, but grinned. "I left you the best pillow! Be grateful."

The girl pulled her sleeping bag out from its sack. "Well, who am I to ignore the orders of the town sheriff?"

After a lot of fiddling, Faye was eventually content with her place by the desk. She debated for a moment whether she should go sit near Carl but, as she took off her jacket and flung it onto her bag, decided not to as the boy had a tendency to be a human radiator and she was already plenty warm. The food on her plate wasn't as appetising anymore. "This room clear?" She asked, the previous silence gnawing at her ears.

"Clear of what? Walkers?" The boy tilted his head sideways with his sarcastic words. "No, I have one hidden in my backpack. And eat something."

She did so, before taking off her shoes. "I meant of stuff, dumbass. I can't remember how well we looted this building."

"Yeah, it's got nothing. It's been a long time since you called me dumbass." If Faye squinted, she could say Carl almost sounded sentimental.

The girl shrugged. "'s been a long time since you acted like one, dumbass, broke your lil' streak."

"You sound like Daryl."

"You sound like Rick."

"No, I don't!"

"Sure, you don't, Carly."

"Oh my God." He paused. "Your food's gunna go cold."

Taking another bite, Faye perched on her toes, but quickly found her ankles aching and she leaned back against the wall with her legs out stretched lazily in front of her. The problem of where she would get changed seemed to have arrived early as her shirt felt clammy and she'd reach a new level of sweaty if she slept in it. She regretted not putting her hair up, finally noticing the perspiration appearing on her forehead and neck.

Faye coughed.

Author's Note:

Happy holidays, we're back on the first Saturday of 2016!
(I'm sorry, the first section of this chapter is utter trash but I'm so done with that part at this point I can edit it another time.)

You may notice the change of username, that was to put an end to the 13 year old me's reign of tyranny and give a little help to a couple of friends who are hunting to find this fic 'cause I won't show it to them ;)

For the thousandth time: endless thank yous for not abandoning me during times of no updates. You're all amazing :D

Please review, I love to hear your thoughts and advice.

Thanks

GeorgiiMay (Oh lord, his is gunna feel weird for a while.)