Leanne Blake adored her daughter, more than anything in the world, and would go to great lengths to ensure her safety

From the beginning, the mother knew she wasnt born for survival, especially not in a world that had fallen into shambles. Alas, without her ex-husband and son, the only ones Leanne thought were capable, she had no choice but follow government guidelines

Those in power in Wisconsin were just as fucked as the undead that walked the earth, wanting nothing to do with the few still alive if there wasnt nothing in it for them. The Wisconsin QZ was nothing but a compound, those inside test subjects for the military's experiments

Leanne knew that her daughter would never live in a normal life again, despite the talks of a cure originating all across the USA, but there was no way she was going to let her settle for a capitalist lifestyle in the QZ

That's how they ended up in Woodbury, hours from the city they called home for almost a decade, with Philip Blake, the biggest creep Leanne had ever met

Alas, he was family, and in times of crisis, family protected each other — It was a given, an unspoken rule that Malaya Blake never seemed to grasp

When she ran off, under the shadow of darkness, Leanne grew frantic, not willing to lose her daughter. She had Andrea, her brother-in-law's newfound love, and her partner Michonne to thank, absolutely sure that the latter was May's accomplice

The mother was desperate to send out a search party, and to her suprise, Philip agreed, sending out Merle and a couple other soldiers to look for the lost daughter and the samurai

Nothing of use came out of the expedition — Well, apart from Merle kidnapping two of his ex-group members, prompting a raid and a full-blown civil war to brew

Leanne was on the sidelines during the raid, locked inside her home with a pistol for protection. But, she was an observer. She watched. She saw everything. Including Michonne, and then she knew

Malaya was out there, and best bet is she was with this new group

Merle had mentioned the town of Statenville, where the search party had concluded with the capture of Maggie Greene and Glenn Rhee. Leanne found herself wondering how far from the town their new enemies were holed up, and if Malaya was with them

Like mother, like daughter. The night after the raid, she too left under the cloak of darkness. As one of the leaders of Woodbury, Leanne knew of all the ins and outs, some of which the guards were unaware of

As the sun dawned over Georgia, casting shadows as far as the eye could see, Leanne was on the move, body weak but mind strong as she urged herself to find her only daughter

She had remembered Merle's mention of the town of Statenville, a rough 13 miles east of Woodbury, and after walking for the majority of the night, an old sign came into view, on the left side of the road, covered in green moss

Leanne had then allowed herself a break, kneeling against the sign and taking the littlest sips possible of her water, which had decreased to a quarter of the bottle

From her resting spot, she could hear voices beyond the line of trees. At first, she couldnt recognise them, the only audible voices being ones that belonged to men — Until she heard a girl cussing out the boy named Carl, and Leanne immediately knew it was her daughter

Peeking through the bushes, Malaya was now in her mother's line of sight, stood beside a boy with a hat, arms crossed over her chest, and Leanne could smell her attitude from a mile away

The woman desperately wanted to rush out from her cover, pull her daughter into her arms and never let go. But she had to play this strategically. By the look of it, her daughter had successfully found a new group, and Leanne could only guess that the Merle's captives were also a part of the commune

In addition, Leanne knew all about Malaya's deep hatred for her uncle, and if she had any other choice, she wouldnt return to Woodbury. Unluckily, she infact did have another choice

After pondering for a moment, she watched Malaya walk away in the opposite direction, side-by-side with the boy named Carl, towards the pharmacy

The sun sat high in the sky, signalling it was around noon, and Leanne was still hidden away, watching her daughter from afar. She could've sworn she'd heard Malaya scream for help an hour or so prior, but her new group had come running to her aid

The mother had moved positions, using an old tree as cover to spy on the three. They'd collected a couple of bags full of supplies, but not enough to last over a week — God forbid they had anyone else to feed

Leanne open her pack, taking a bite out of her second to last apple. When she looked up again, the car was pulling out of the town at full speed, "Shit!" the woman cussed, shoving her snack safely in her bag and chasing after the vehicle

After the car was out of sight, Leanne placed her hands on her knees, taking a moment to catch her breath and question what she was to do next

Her foot brushed against the tracks in the dirt road, left by the car that had taken Malaya away. With a huff, Leanne stood up straight once again, preparing to travel far and wide to find her daughter

Since her uncle's arrival, the whole prison had been on high alert, anticipating the next suprise attack

"What do you think's gonna happen?" Malaya muttered to Kat, who sat on the bench, hand held over her healing wound. She merely shrugged, and Malaya couldnt tell if she was genuinely unsure or still upset with her deception

Whilst she was glad nothing huge had come from the Governor's attack, Malaya had spent the night tossing and turning in an anxious state. Now, not only did she have to worry with Kat and Michonne knowing her secret, she had to make sure Merle kept his mouth shut — If there was one thing Malaya had learnt from her time in Woodbury, it was that Merle Dixon didn't listen to anyone but himself

Speaking of the devil, despite being in a cell, the redneck was very adament about his opinions, including leaving the prison before Philip returned with even more manpower. Rick and Daryl were the ones most against the idea, "We're not leaving!" Rick repeated for the billionth time that morning

"We cant stay here!" Hershel urged, speaking for most of the group. Malaya didnt know who to agree with. As selfish as it may be, she was more concerned for her own well-being at the current moment

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds!" Maggie spoke up in solidarity to her father. Beth and Carol were the next to speak up, both adding onto Maggie and Hershel's points

"Rick says we're not running, we're not running!" Glenn argued, making Malaya roll her eyes — What Rick says goes apparently

"No, better to live like rats. We should have slid out here last night and lived to fight another day! But we lost that window, didn't we? Sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now." Merle piped up, leaning against the cell door

"We aint scared of that prick," Daryl told his brother from above, looking down at him

"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell! We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got guns and the numbers. If he takes the high ground around this place, shit, he could just starve us out if he wanted to!"

Malaya gulped, which confirmed everything Merle had said was true. Her uncle was truly a psycho, but a smart man nonetheless. With a glance over to Michonne, the woman cleaning her katana, May knew she felt the same way

"Let's put him in the other cell block," Maggie suggested, tightening the bandage around her knuckles

Daryl was quick to dismiss the idea, probably wanting to keep his brother close, but Maggie and the Greene's all stuck together, still pressuring Rick to pack up their stuff and make a run for it

Rick had zoned out, eyes trained on the wall ahead. When he started to move, away from the conversation, Hershel was quick to his feet to order Rick's return, but the Grimes man was already gone

Malaya looked around the others, avoiding eye contact with Merle, not wanting to give him any reason to bring her past up. Instead, she looked to Carl, giving him her best comforting grin, before he followed his dad out of the room

Kat hissed as she stood up, batting away Malaya's outstretched hand and hobbling back to her cell for some rest. Her injury wasn't healing as fast as anyone had hoped, and with one of, if not the best, hand-to-hand fighter's on the team benched, they weren't going to put up a good fight

The room stood silent for what felt like an eternity before Rick and Carl's shouts thundered through the room. Everyone rushed out, Glenn and Maggie leading the way as they chased the sound. The Grimes's didnt sound distressed, just alarmed

Rick leant against the fench, binoculars raised to his eyes, peering out to the woods beyond the gate, "There's someone out there. A woman," he passed the binoculars to Glenn whilst Malaya raised herself onto her tip-toes to get a view. Glenn noticed what she was trying to achieve, passing her the binoculars before heading to unlock the gates with Maggie

Malaya scanned the area for the woman, taking a moment for her vision to focus before noting down the woman's attributes. She had a dark bob, and was wearing jeans and a red-

Malaya froze, throat drying up, hand shaking before dropping the binoculars to the ground — It was her mother

Carl noticed the dramatic change in his friend's demeanour, placing his hand on her shoulder to draw her from her trance, "Malaya? You okay?"

"It's my mom," she muttered, barely audible, but those surrounding her definitely heard it. Out of the corner of her eye, Malaya noticed Rick's attention snap to her, along with Michonne swiping the binoculars from the ground to see for herself. With Michonne's confirmation, there was no doubt that it was infact Leanne Blake

Glenn and Maggie had now reached the second gate, Malaya wasting no time in rushing down to reunite with her mother

Within seconds, the final gate was unlocked, and with a clear view of her mother, Malaya broke out into a sprint, hurdling towards the woman at a record-breaking speed, "Mom! Mom!"

Leanne's face flooded with tears at the sight of her daughter, dropping to her knees in exhaustion and embracing her girl. Both Blakes sobbed in one another's arms, the mother thanking god for protecting her daughter, "You're okay."

"I'm okay!" Malaya confirmed as her mother brushed both her hair and tears from her cheeks, holding the girl's face in her hands. By now, the rest of the group, excluding Hershel and Kat, had reached the grass where mother and daughter had reunited. Malaya rose to her feet, pulling Leanne up along with her, "These are the guys that took me in. The ones who saved me."

Leanne had overheard the things Philip had said about this group, how they were ruining the way of life in surrounding areas. She was also still slightly paranoid about them somewhat stealing away her daughter — Alas, in the present, the mother couldnt find it within herself to hold a grudge. She was only grateful for them providing Malaya safety

"I'm Rick, Rick Grimes. The Leader," he introduced with an outstretched hand

Malaya prayed that her mother didn't respond with her full name, and thank the lord, she didnt, "I'm Leanne," she told him, taking and shaking his hand, "I cannot thank you enough for watching over my little girl."

"It was our pleasure. Malaya's been of great help," Rick's hand reached to Carl's head, ruffling his hair, "A great influence aswell," Carl faked a scowl at his dad, Malaya laughing at his messy hair — The parents didnt miss the pink that dusted their children's cheeks when they looked at each other, "Let's go get you cleaned up and introduced to everyone," Rick announced, leading the reunited family back to the prison

When Rick said 'cleaned up', Malaya didnt think for a moment he meant 'lock her in a cell'

"Merle's in a cell!" Rick argued when Malaya brought it up, the second group meeting of the morning commencing

"Merle's a psychopath!" The Blake girl fired back, immediately glancing over her shoulder at Daryl, "No offense," the man just grunted, agreeing with the statement

"She stays, she's in a cell, got it? Just until we're sure we can trust her," Rick said, causing Malaya to pout and cross her arms

"She's my mother, Rick! We can trust her!" Malaya continued to argue. However, she knew there was no getting through to Rick

"Merle is Daryl's brother. Doesn't stop him from being a snake in the nest," Glenn added, siding with Rick as always

Glenn's comment made Daryl step in, getting between the two other men, "Man, we gonna go through this again? Merle's staying here. He's with us now. So's the girl's mom. Get used to it," Glenn opened his mouth to reply, but Daryl had already stormed away, climbing the stairs to the second floor of cells

"I have nothing against Malaya's mom. But seriously Rick, I don't think Merle living here is really gonna fly."

"I can't kick him out."

Glenn snapped, growing tired of Rick not listening to him, "I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you!" Malaya didnt know much about Shane. She overheard his name mentioned a few times, but what she did know, was that he was dead

"I'm going to check on my mom," Malaya told the small unit of the group, but no attention was payed to her, Rick and Glenn continuing to argue

Malaya passed Merle in his cell as she moved to visit her mother, speeding away before he could ask any questions. Leanne was in the last cell on the corridor, far enough from Merle to please both her and Malaya

Leanne had changed clothes, swapping into a pair of Maggie's jeans and Carl's mother's old flannels — Carl had insisted they not be wasted. The woman lay on the cot, facing the ceiling with her eyes closed, "How you doing?" Malaya voice clearly frightened her, Leanne flinching before rolling over to sit up

"As well as a prisoner can be doing," she answered truthfully, smiling at her daughter. She didnt realise how much she missed Malaya until they were reunited, "Maggie's a size smaller. These jeans are giving me a wedgie."

Malaya gave her a laugh, leaning against the door and pressing her face between the bars goofily. The mother and daughter just chilled for a while, before Malaya straightened up and asked the question she'd been dying to ask, "Did he send you?"

Although she'd done a scan of the area before asking, May didnt want to risk anyone eavesdropping, and Leanne knew who 'he' was, "No," she answered truthfully, yet Malaya still couldnt brush away the nerves

"How'd you find me then? How'd you find us?" she continued to interrogate her mother, "And why was it the day after he attacked?"

"He attacked here? Are you hurt?" Leanne sat up straight, oblivious to any plans of attack

"Answer the question Mom."

Leanne wasn't used to her daughter speaking to her in such a way — She came to the conclusion that it was Malaya's way of adapting to the new world, "I saw Michonne in Woodbury the night she," the mother paused, looking for the right word, "enucleated your uncle. She was the last person I saw you with, so I took my chances!"

Malaya didnt know what enucleated meant, but just presumed it was some sort of assault technique, "He deserved it. The enucleating," Leanne's brows furrowed into a scolding expression, clearly not agreeing with Malaya's opinion

"Do they know who you are?" the mother asked, standing up and walking towards the cell door, taking May's hands in her own

"Some of them do. Not the ones who matter," Malaya answered, immediately regretting the phrasing. It sounded harsh that way, like Kat didnt matter despite her being the whole reason Malaya was safe, but the Blake girl had to do whatever she could to keep the waters calm, "They wont let me stay if they find out. You know that, right?"

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Leanne inquired. She knew Malaya would take it the wrong way, but the mother only wanted the best for her child

Malaya scoffed, releasing her mother's hand and pushing away from the bars with a look of disbelief, "Yes, mother, it would! He's a deranged, sick man!" the woman rolled her eyes at the dramatics, arms crossing over her chest

"He protected us, Malaya! He's family!"

"Having the same last name doesnt mean shit anymore, Mom! Family isnt always blood, okay? I'm glad of that," the Blake woman was clearly disappointed with the answer she received, and wasnt going to let it go until she got her way

"He's going to come back, Malaya. Do you think these people will be able to protect you when Philip realises we're here?" Malaya hushed her loudening voice, not wanting any passer-by's to overhear the argument

"I dont want his protection! Are you really going to let me go back there, with him? After what he did to Glenn? What he did to Maggie?" Leanne groaned, resting her head in her hands

"He was trying to get you back!"

"He doesnt even know that I'm here!" Malaya spat back, taking another step back to pace the hallway. The girl could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and her whole body shaking, but she didnt understand why. Why she was getting so frustrated. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was guilt.

"Let's just go home sweetheart," Leanne spoke softly, not wanting to set off the ticking time-bomb that was her daughter

"That place isnt my home. Never was, never will be," the teen replied, staring at her battered shoes, "This is my home now. These are my people. Rick wants you to stay, but you have to prove you're here for the right reasons!"

"What are the right reasons?" her mother asked, leant back against the wall, legs crossed on the bed

"Me. You're here for me."

Leanne sighed. She was. She was there for Malaya, and Malaya only. But the woman was wise, and knew Rick and the others wouldnt allow family of the Governor's to stay for long — Deep down, Malaya knew it too, but was scared to admit it in fear of it becoming a reality

Sooner or later, they'd be kicked to the curb, crawling back to Philip. For now, Leanne surrendered, deciding to play by Malaya's rules, "I can do that sweetheart."