Disclaimer—I don't own or make claim to the characters from The Walking Dead. I only own my original characters.

The next morning I was up early--OK, so it was still dark out and technically still nighttime. I was surprised I slept at all after how much I'd slept yesterday. I guess I did have some catching up to do. I decide to go out on the porch and sit on the swing while I sip some hot chocolate. I'm decent enough in shorts and a t-shirt. OK, the shorts might be a little shorter than I prefer, but beggars can't be choosers and nobody else is up anyway.

Scratch that, I see Daryl, Glenn, Maggie & Abraham go running past my house and up the stairs to Rick's house like there's a fire somewhere. I want to know what's happening, so I set my cup down and race across the lawn in my bare feet and follow them into the house. I peek over Abraham's shoulder and see a man on the stairs with a beanie on. Everyone has their guns pointed at him including Carl. Rick says to the man, "You said you wanted to talk, so let's talk."

By the time we all relocate to the kitchen, the sun is coming up. Rick asks me, "How'd you end up here," as he eye's my outfit and bare legs and feet. Not exactly an outfit I planned on being seen in. My face turns red, I am sure. "I saw everyone running so I wanted to see what was going on," I reply. He nods and turns back to the man who calls himself Jesus.

Rick asks him how he got out. Yep, this must be the prisoner. He gives a very long, convoluted answer. Basically, not enough guards and he picked the locks. He informs us he saw our arsenal which is impressive. Also our food stores which are not. Hmmm, I'm learning things here as I eye Rick. He'd have me believe this place has everything, but obviously they're running low.

Jesus starts talking again to Daryl. "Look, we got off to a bad start. But we're on the same side--the living side. You and Rick had every reason to leave me out there, but you didn't." Interesting, I think. He is grateful he was a prisoner? He continues, "I'm from a place that's a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things, and both of you look like trouble."

He's looking at Rick and Daryl as he says this. I smirk. My thoughts exactly, I can't blame him. I thought the same when I first saw them. Wait, he took their truck? OK, so maybe they had good reason to lock him up if he was stealing from them and they get points for not leaving him out there as walker bait.

Jesus continues, "I was wrong. You're good people. And this is a good place. I think our communities may be in a position to help each other." Glenn asks, "Do you have food?"

Jesus answers, "We've started raising livestock. We scavenge, we grow. Everything from tomatoes to sorghum."

Rick says, "Tell us why we should believe you?" Ha! Look at him, not trusting what somebody says and yet he'd have me believe every word that comes out of his mouth. I narrow my eyes at him and he sees me. He knows exactly what I'm thinking.

Jesus responds, "I'll show you. If we take a car, I can take you back home in a day and you can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer."

Maggie speaks up now. "Wait, you're looking for MORE settlements? You mean you're already trading with other groups?"

Jesus sits back and smiles. "Your world's about to get a whole lot bigger."

It doesn't take long before they are loading up an RV and ready to go visit Jesus' community called the Hilltop. Judith woke up and I'm trying to help out by entertaining her. I put Judith in her high chair and feed her some oatmeal. When she's done, I give her a few cheerios to play with.

I see Rick walking back into the house. Carl meets him at the door. "You sure?" Carl asks his Dad.

"No. But if he's telling the truth, this could be the start of everything," Rick replies. "Well, get your stuff. Gabriel can take care of Judith while we're gone."

"No, I'm not coming," Carl replies. "Somebody's gotta stay back, keep this place safe. A kid with a messed-up face probably wouldn't make the best first impression anyway." Oh. My heart breaks for Carl, and I can see from Rick's face that he's not sure what to say either. Carl pats his Dad on the shoulder and goes out the front door. It is then that Rick notices me and sees Judith eating in her high chair.

He walks over, eyeing my outfit again. OK, now I really wish I had changed, but Judith was hungry.

"I wish I knew what to say to give him his self-confidence back," he says as he leans against the counter next to me. No really, right next to me. Our shoulders are touching. This man truly has no sense of personal space. I scooch over a little bit.

"Can I ask what happened?" I request.

"He got shot in the eye during that mess with the wolves and walkers," Rick replies. I gasp. Oh no, what a horrible thing to happen to a kid. "You are so lucky he lived through that," I say.

"I know," he replies. "I give thanks every day that Denise was able to save him. But, he's finally out of the woods and he's so self-conscious."

I bump his shoulder. I know, I know, the one I was just avoiding. I'm just trying to give comfort where I can. "He's a good kid. Give him time and he'll adjust. Kids are good at adjusting."

He smiles at me and moves in for a hug. Uh oh. "Thanks," he says. "You know just what to say. I need to ask another favor though," he says as he pulls back from the hug but hangs on to my elbows.

"Um, sure. What can I do to help?" I ask as I try to show no impact from him touching me.

"Judith really likes you," he replies. "Carl is staying behind, but I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on him and Judith. Carol will look in on them as well, but she'll also be busy helping with the defense of this place while we're gone."

"Of course," I say. "I'm happy to help. I'll make sure Judith and Carl are OK while you're gone."

His eyes look at me intently. "Thank you," he says fervently. Then he leans down and kisses me on the temple. I take a deep breath and pull away, grabbing a cloth to clean Judith up with from the sink. "I'm going to give you a pass on that one," I say as I start to wipe Judith's face off. "Because I know there's a lot going on and you're stressed about Carl. But you really aren't showing me that you actually know how to wait very well like you said you would," I complain. He laughs out loud and says, "I really like your outfit, by the way," and heads out the door to join the group. Now that was just deliberate teasing, I think to myself as I see them load up the RV and drive away.

I pass most of the day hanging out with the kids. We explore the town thoroughly with Carl & Judith tagging along. I push Judith's stoller all over town, at least twice. She is very popular with the Alexandrians and I meet more people because of her. Everyone is very friendly but some of them don't seem to be very prepared for this world. Around noon, we pass one of the guard posts and Carol calls down for us to wait a minute. She climbs down and asks me if I would feel comfortable manning the guard post for just a little while so she can grab some lunch.

"Absolutely," I say. "You have done so much for me, I'd love to cover for you for a bit."

She hesitates and then hands the shotgun to me. "You know how to use it?" she asks.

I flip it up, check the chamber, see it's clear and then slide a round into the chamber. Then I clear the chamber again.

"Well," she says. "It looks like you know what you're doing."

"I've had to use one a time or two," I acknowledge. She gives me instructions shows me a radio to call the other guards for help if any living show up. She takes Judith's stroller and heads back with the kids. I climb up into the watchtower and keep watch for about 2 hours. When she comes back, she thanks me and tells me the kids are back at Rick's house.

I join the kids and we play some games. Carl actually pulls out an old monopoly game and looks at me. "It's Thursday," he says. I just laugh at him. Touche' kid.

We are deep in a game of monopoly, where mainly I'm trying to keep Judith from eating the pieces, when Rick comes walking in. "Dad!" Carl says. "What's happening?"

"It's fine Carl. We're just discussing a request the Hilltop had for us."

Carl asks, "It's good then?" Rick responds, "Yeah, it's good."

Rick looks at me. "Would you mind staying with them another hour or two? I'm so sorry to ask, but it would really help me out."

"Sure," I reply. "I'll get Judith to bed before we head home." That is when Rick notices the monopoly game. He smirks. "I see it's Monopoly Thursday." I roll my eyes at him. "Carl had a point to make," I say. He laughs out loud and heads out again. Crazy man.

I look at the kids. "Well, who wants to buy a hotel before Judith eats them all?"

Once we finish Monopoly, Carl heads to his room when I tell him I'll bathe Judith and get her to bed. I send my kids home to get ready for bed. After her bath, I make her a bedtime bottle. I enjoy some time rocking a sweet smelling baby in her room as she downs her bottle and falls asleep. I put her down in her crib and knock on Carl's door to let him know I'm leaving. As I head out the door, I hear murmuring from the garage. I hear Rick's voice along with some of the others. Hmmm, well, whatever it is, it seems to require a lot of discussion. I'm tired, I'm not used to chasing a baby all day anymore. I head to bed and it's bliss to lay down. I'm letting everyone sleep in their own beds now, but we all lock our doors.

The next morning I'm sipping hot chocolate on the porch when I see a lot of activity again over by the gate. What now? At least this time I have on some yoga pants I found--much better than shorts if people start walking by. I won't go running into other people's houses this time either.

My strategy seems to work as I see the RV pull out. Well, I hope whatever they're doing, it goes well.

I enjoy a lazy morning. I fix the kids breakfast and we invite Carl & Judith to join us for breakfast at our house.

Eugene knocks on the door and tells me they are short handed on the guard towers. He asks if I would help them out again. I agree and head out to the front gate tower for a shift from noon till 8.

The guard post is very quiet. I saw that all the other posts are Alexandrians that don't seem as comfortable with guns. Tobin seems to be in charge and Eugene is helping him. Very strange. Now I wish I'd asked more questions. Kayla dropped off lunch and told me they'd be having dinner with Carl at Rick's house and to come there when I was done. At 8 I'm relieved and head over for dinner. The kids are having a good time when I join them for dinner. They have eaten, so I hurry and eat while they are playing a new board game in the living room. I finish eating, but Judith is getting cranky. I pick her up and ask Carl, "Is your Dad going to be here soon? Should I get her ready for bed?"

Carl says, "Nah, Dad will be gone tonight, so she can go to bed. Do you want me to do it?" He looks reluctant to leave his game--I guess it's a critical part. "No, that's fine, I've got her," I tell him. He looks relieved.

After I get her settled down, I head back downstairs. Their game is finished and people are starting to look tired. "Carl, are you OK here alone with Judith," I ask? "Do you want some company?"

Before he has a chance to say anything Annie yells, "Sleepover!!!" and all the kids get excited. I roll my eyes, but don't protest. I'd feel bad leaving Carl here all alone. In the end, Carl and the kids set up in the living room. He pulls out sleeping bags from somewhere and they are finally settling down. I lock the doors and make a bed on the floor by Judy's crib.

I wake up to Judy babbling. It makes me smile. Life is good here, baby's can even babble without being afraid. I get her up and ready and take her downstairs for her morning oatmeal. By the time Judy's done with breakfast, the kids are moving. Judy isn't a quiet eater.

I make breakfast and feed the crew. I hand Judy off to Carl and head home with my kids. I'm working 10-2 on the gate today. I've been trying to be patient, but I'm really curious where half our residents (and the strongest ones) have gone and why they were out overnight. When I get to the guard post, I ask Tobin what's going on. He tells me the same thing Eugene was saying--they are helping the Hilltop out with something in exchange for food.

The guard shift goes fast and soon I'm back home. I change and go to Rachel's house where Judy is. Rachel offered to cut my hair this afternoon. I can't wait--it's hot and a mess. I end up getting a short pixie cut so it's out of my face and not on my neck. I love it! I take Judy back to Rick's house to make dinner. The kids show up ravenous and Carl insists it's movie night because it's Saturday. The boy is going to make me eat every one of my words. They find some old 80's movie and start it up and soon I get Judy ready for bed and tucked in for the night.

When I come downstairs, I hear a commotion down at the gate. I tell the kids I'll be right back and make sure I have my machete and gun as I run down to see what's going on.

I am relieved when I peer through the dark to see the RV parked just inside the gate. Good, they're back. I pass Carol on the way, she's fast-walking toward her house. Something looks wrong there, but she's gone before I can ask. Next, Glenn & Maggie head my way. Something is very wrong there.

"What's wrong," I ask. Glenn looks up at me. "It was a hard day," he says, and then they continue down the street. Strange. Finally I see Rick, Daryl and Abraham standing by the RV unloading some things.

"Hey," I say. "Is everything OK?"

Rick turns around and glances at me. "Why would you think anything's wrong?"

"Well, I just passed Carol, Glenn & Maggie and they look like they've been through the wringer."

"Long day. They're fine," he responds. I stare at him. Seriously? He isn't going to tell me anything that happened? Fine. I swing around on my heel and head back to his house. He's home, he can watch his own damn kids.

"Sandi, wait!" he calls out. Yeah, no. He had his chance to talk. I'm not interested in living in a community where only the 'cool kids' get to know what's happening. Something big just went down and I deserve to know what it was, especially if it puts my kids at risk. What day is it now? Day 5 of our week commitment? OK, we can leave Tuesday morning then. I break into a jog and make it back to his house.

The kids all look up at me when I slam the door behind me. "They're back," I say. "Time for us to head home kids." There are the usual protests, but I gather them quickly. I tell Carl goodnight and we head home. Just as I shut my front door, I see Rick coming up my porch stairs. Fat chance. I slide the deadbolt home, loudly, and then snick the lock on the doorknob. He did tell me to make sure my doors were locked after all. Luckily the kids have already gone upstairs to bed when I hear him say, "Sandi, come on. We need to talk." I shut off the porch light and the living room lights so this level is dark. That should answer that. I walk over to make sure the back door is locked and then go upstairs. Sleep is a long time coming tonight.

A/N  There's a lot happening in this longer chapter.  Sandi is getting closer to Rick's kids.  She allows herself to consider the possibilities and then bam! betrayal.  Do you think Rick intentionally left her out of the loop?  Do you think he had a good reason?  Will Sandi forgive him?

If you liked this chapter please consider giving it a vote and I would love some comments!  The next chapter is written, I'm just finishing up some editing.  Should be out in a couple days!