CHAPTER FORTY » HOME
"They're lucky to have found each other."

♔

The truck came to an abrupt stop. Rick turned the keys, killing the engine and leaving us in an empty silence.

Not a word was said as we began to pile out of the truck one by one. Not a word, until Rick began addressing someone from the Woodbury group. I glanced at Daryl, sighing heavily as his eyes met mine, his expression seeming to radiate similar thoughts to me.

Rick had decided to bring back the rest of Woodbury to live at the prison with us. I guessed it was a smart move, considering the Governor was still out there. Not that he posed much of a threat, due to him being army-less and alone.

Part of me though, was still slightly irritated that we hadn't found the Governor and finished him off. I knew he was still out there, surviving, and it made me sick to my stomach.

I wasn't totally against Rick's idea, nor was I totally for it. I guess it would have been wrong to leave them leaderless, but I was sure someone else would have stepped up. We could have made a truce with them instead, got them on our side. But now, we were landed with a dozen more people. So was this place really home anymore?

"Blaire," my mother spoke up, stopping me in my tracks. I nodded at Daryl to go ahead as I turned my attention towards her, already dreading whatever she had to say. She seemed to wait until he was out of earshot before finally speaking. "Everything that happened before this, I would like to put it behind us."

Stubbornly, I desperately wanted to tell her no. I had a talent of holding grudges, and I could hold this one for a lot longer. But something told me I'd regret it if I didn't put it behind us. Most of all, we had more important things to focus on now. I had no choice but to agree.

"This doesn't mean that we can go back to playing happy families again," I told her firmly, to which she simply nodded. "Things are different now, they've changed, and so have I."

"I know, Blaire," she said softly, a small smile on her face as her eyes briefly flickered past me. "Now, go do what you have to do."

Slightly confused, but satisfied, I nodded, slowly turning my back to her again as I looked into the distance, spotting Glenn stood a little away, watching us both with an unreadable expression. That must have been who my mom had been looking at.

A smile blossomed on my face as I made my way up to him, more of a skip to my step. Glenn wrapped his arms around me straight away, pulling me closer to him and pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. "Everything okay?"

I lifted my head up, my eyes flickering up to meet his. He was watching me with concern written in his gentle gaze. And whilst staring into his soft, warm eyes, the comforting colour of mahogany wood and home, I began to realise something.

"Yeah," I mused, breathing out as I felt myself melt into his gaze. "Everything's okay."

And everything was fine. It was fine because I realised that this place, this prison, it wasn't quite my home – but Glenn was. My home was wherever he was.

~

"And this is Blaire Lewis." I heard Rick say, making me come to a complete halt as I attempted to pass by. I glanced to my left to see him stood with a small group of people, waving me over.

Hesitantly, I started to approach the group, feeling very uncomfortable as they watched me walk over. "Uh, hi," I greeted, coming to a stop beside Rick, unsure as to why I was there.

"These people are interested in the skills class you're thinking of doing," Rick told me quietly as he leaned closer. I nodded, it now all clicking as to why he'd called me over.

"Oh, right, yeah," I said, my eyes sweeping over the group. There was a girl around my age with dark hair and olive skin, who had a kind smile on her face. There was also a brunette woman, who looked to be in her forties, a younger teenage girl stood beside her. And also another older woman, a couple of middle aged men, and a few other women who looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties. They seemed like a nice few people. "I'm glad to see people are interested."

"Do you know when you'd be starting?" The brunette questioned, almost timidly.

"Likely in the next few days," I responded. "I'll make sure information gets around to everyone before it starts."

"Will we be using guns?"

"Do we get to do target practice?"

"Are you gonna teach us to kill walkers?"

"Will this be useful to my daughter?

"What kind of skills are we gonna learn?"

I raised my eyebrows, feeling bombarded by all the sudden questions. I held my hands up, laughing slightly. "Woah, woah, slow down guys. I'll be teaching you a range of basic combat skills, to help you take on not just walkers but any human threats. You'll be learning about guns and other weapons and how to use them correctly and safely. And yes, this will be very beneficial for your daughter and anyone who is lacking in these kinds of survival skills."

"I can assure you that Blaire knows her stuff," Rick added on to my explanation. "So this is definitely worth coming along to." I nodded along, giving the group small, welcoming smiles. "But until then, get yourselves settled."

"And welcome to the group," I chimed in with a smile, which they all seemed to return before dispersing. I was just about to turn to talk to Rick when Olivia's voice cut through the air, startling me slightly.

"Oh my god!"

I turned my head quickly, watching as she sprinted down the courtyard at full force, heading towards us. The huge grin on her face dismissed any worried thoughts I had, and I watched as she hurtled towards the olive skinned girl that had been stood with me moments ago.

"Jade!" My friend exclaimed, pulling the girl into a huge hug. Jade seemed stunned for a few moments and stood completely still, until she eventually wrapped her arms tightly around Olivia, the two of them swaying slightly in each other's arms.

I had a brief moment of confusion until it suddenly hit me who she was. This was Jade. The Jade. This was her girlfriend. They'd found each other, they'd finally found each other again.

I gasped slightly, my hand covering my mouth as overjoyed tears sprung to my eyes. I watched gleefully as Jade softly cupped Olivia's face with her hands, the two of them leaning into a loving kiss, both grinning, tears running down their cheeks.

I turned to Rick who was also watching the reunion with a wide smile on his face. The two of them broke away, seeming to ask each other billions of questions until Olivia cast her eyes over to the both of us, looking absolutely ecstatic. "Blaire! Rick! Oh my god, come meet Jade!" I chuckled, heading over to an overexcited Olivia alongside Rick, who was also laughing. "This is Blaire, and this is Rick, who basically runs everything," she introduced, as Jade glanced over at us, smiling sweetly.

"Nice to meet you properly," Rick greeted again with a nod. "I'm sure you'll fit in here."

"Thank you," she said quietly, and I noticed she was quite different to Olivia in that respect.

"It's good to finally meet you, I've heard great things from Liv," I said brightly, hoping not to overwhelm her too much at once.

She gave me a soft, friendly smile in return. "Nice to meet you too, Blaire."

"Well," Rick started, the both of us sharing a mutual nod of agreement to leave them in peace. "We'll leave you two to catch up."

"See you later," I said with a small wave, as the two girls happily nodded, chiming in with goodbyes.

"Man, they're so cute," I told Rick as we started to head in the opposite direction through the courtyard.

"They're lucky to have found each other," he responded, and I nodded in agreement. After all this time, it seemed impossible that anyone would ever reunite with missing loved ones again. Some people, me included, were obviously just the fortunate ones.

"Yeah, they really are."

~

"This is a lot more people to feed and look after," Hershel pointed out as a couple of us stood privately inside the prison with Rick. It had been a couple of hours since we'd first brought everyone back.

"And I don't think they all know how to fight," Olivia added on. "What should we do about that?"

"Don't worry, we've already had this conversation," I told them both, glancing to Rick. "We're just gonna have to make things work."

"We always do," Rick assured with a smile, then turning to Olivia. "And to answer your question about them knowing how to fight, Blaire and I actually had a little conversation about that."

He gave me a nod, which I took as a prompt to continue. "I was thinking about doing a class. You know, for teaching them about weapons and maybe combat they'll need to learn. And well, Liv, I thought that since you know the most about weapons..." I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence because the huge grin forming on her face began to make me laugh.

"Really? You want my help?" She asked excitedly, seeming to be in slight disbelief. I nodded and she looked to Rick too for confirmation, who had a similar smile on his face, Olivia's excitement obviously radiating on to others. "This is amazing," she breathed out, turning to me again. "When do we start?"

"As soon as people are settled," I responded, not wanting to dampen on her parade too much as I knew she was eager to probably start straight away. "And once I've caught up on a hell of a lot more sleep."

"This is gonna work out," Rick said, addressing everybody once again. "For now, all we have to do is give everyone warm welcomes. These are our people now."

With that, the small group seemed to disband. Glenn headed in one direction with Olivia, who seemed to be giddily informing him about her reuniting with Jade. Daryl and Maggie headed to the cells, and Hershel seemed to go back to the courtyard, which just left Rick and I alone. "Are you okay? I know it was probably a shock seeing your mom again after all this time."

I nodded my head, letting out an awkward, breathy laugh. "Yeah, just a bit."

"I spoke to her earlier," he said as I nodded along. "She came and introduced herself, made a good impression. I think she'll be a good asset to the group."

"What are you trying to ask?" I questioned, slightly exasperated. "For my approval to my mother being around us, Rick?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he responded, not seeming to be bothered by my tone of voice – although I felt a little guilty for my attitude. "I know things were tough."

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm still my own person," I told him firmly. "She might be family by blood but–" I found myself cutting off, unable to continue my sentence.

"If you ever need to talk, you know I'm always here," he offered, to which I couldn't help but give a small smile in reply to his kind words.

"Thank you, Rick," I said as I began to turn away, before he spoke up again.

"You know, you're a leader, Blaire. A real leader. You stepped up here when I couldn't. And our group, they respect you, they look to you, almost as much as they look to me. I know that these people will feel the same, and I have the upmost faith that you will make the right choices. I'm proud of you." Rick finished with a smile, as I felt a tug at my heart from his words.

I really wasn't expecting him to come out with it, but it truly was some of the kindest words I'd ever received. To hear it from his point of view, to know everyone felt like that, it really was the most wonderful feeling. And to hear him say he was proud of me, it meant the world to me. Having a mother who never once uttered those words to me, and a father who would only do so rarely, it felt odd to hear someone say that.

"Rick–" I started, attempting to thank him, but I didn't get to finish as an overwhelming amount of emotions bubbled up within me instead. I found myself stood with a smile, tears spilling down my cheeks.

"Dad?" I heard Carl question, and turned my head to see behind me, giving Carl a watery smile. "Blaire? Are you okay?"

"I'm good, kiddo," I assured, as he began to run over, practically crashing in to me, hugging around my middle. I glanced back, sharing a laugh with Rick, who headed over, placing a hand on my shoulder, and an arm around Carl. I smiled up at Rick, before glancing down and grinning at Carl, who was beaming up at us both.

Suddenly, the same feeling I had with Glenn earlier hit me at full force again. And as I glanced between Rick and Carl, I began to realise what Rick had been trying to say earlier. That even if my mom was going to be here with us, and even if things weren't brilliant between us both, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because I still had family, real family, right here with me.

And these people, our little group, they were always going to be my home.

❃

Words: 2352
Published: 10th July 2017

This kinda sucked but I rewrote it so many times and this was the best I got.

A cute little ending to season 3 though.

I'm going on holiday for two weeks, however as soon as I get back I'll get to writing season 4 😊