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Jo

The next morning we were loading guns into the van. Well, the others were loading I was sitting on the steps, cleaning the few Rick had set aside. He and Michonne had found a huge supply of guns and food at a military camp they had stumbled upon. Now, we were getting ready to bring the guns to the garbage people.

When the last of the guns were loaded and ready Rick and Daryl walked over to where I was sitting.

"Well?" Rick asked.

I jerked my chin towards the guns I had cleaned and oiled. "They look fine, you guys hit the jackpot with these," I said appreciatively. Though I couldn't help the small twinge of disappointment that Daryl and I wouldn't be going out on a run together. With this many guns there was no reason. We had our payment for the garbage people, as soon as we delivered the wheels would start turning.

Rick nodded, rubbing the back of his knuckles along his cheek. "Good, we'll need a show of force when we go..." he dragged off.

I nodded agreeing with him. The garbage people needed to believe we were strong. They were scavengers and would take advantage if they thought they could. "We need everyone we can spare," I said. "Gabriel, Tara, Michonne, Daryl, me..." I ran a hand through my hair. There were only so many people we could spare, only so many people we could bring into a situation like we were facing. The garbage people couldn't see any weakness. And if it came to a fight, we couldn't afford to bring anyone in we would have to protect. "Aaron...Erich..." I looked over at Carl who was inspecting one of the guns I had oiled. "Carl should come to," I said, knowing Rick might not agree. But Carl was one of our strongest fighters and we couldn't ignore that. He wasn't a kid anymore.

Rick glanced from me to Carl, then sighed. He nodded. "Yeah...Carl should come."

Carl smiled triumphantly, looking from me to his dad. "I'll go round everyone up," Carl offered and he trotted off.

Rick nodded. "We leave in an hour," he called after Carl. Carl waved over his shoulder but didn't slow, as though he were worried his dad would change his mind.

I stood and stretched. There was a twinge in my ribs, but it wasn't as bad as they had been before. I twisted slowly, experimenting with my range of motion. It wasn't much, but knowing what I was capable of without hurting myself further was a good place to start. I didn't feel as weak as I had before either, being out and doing things helped.

"Jo-" Rick started to say, moving a step towards me. He paused at the look on my face and glanced over his shoulder at Daryl.

Daryl was standing about five feet away with his arms crossed over his chest. His face was completely shuttered. I knew exactly what Rick was going to say, and I didn't feel like having this fight again. After our talk yesterday Daryl and I were in a good place. I did't want Rick to ruin that.

"I'm going," I told Rick simply, my tone making it clear this was not a discussion we were going to have.

"You're hurt," Rick said, shifting his weight uncomfortably. He glanced back and forth between Daryl and I like he was waiting for Daryl to jump in and back him up, but Daryl still didn't say anything. Smart man.

"Yeah well, they don't know that," I said with a casual shrug.

Rick looked at me in disbelief. "That's a terrible excuse!" he exclaimed.

Daryl snorted behind us. I glanced at him over Rick's shoulder. His eyes were glittering with amusement. I couldn't decide if he was amused by our interaction, or maybe it was because someone else was stuck fighting with me for a change.

I scowled at him and he barked out a hoarse chuckle. I glared and then turned my attention back to Rick. "Look, I impressed her, maybe even intimidated her, we need a show of strength. It will look odd if I'm not there." I pointed out calmly.

Rick sighed, the same defeated look on his face as when he agreed Carl could come. He glanced from me to Daryl. "Well don't you have something to say about all this?"

Daryl stared at me instead of looking at Rick when he spoke, he held his hands up as though in surrender. "Fighting with her don't get ya anywhere," he said shaking his head, a wry grin on his face. "All this time, I've learned at least that much."

Rick looked back and forth between us again as though he were trying to figure us out. "Yeah...I guess you're right," he said wearily. Then he stopped, his head cocked to the side as he stared at me. "You know Jo," he sighed. "You are the most stubborn..." he shook his head and pinched his lips together. "I ah-I don't think I will ever understand you."

I just smirked at him and walked towards the van. Daryl fell into step beside me. We stepped around to the back of the van and I looked inside. I let out a low whistle. 

"If this doesn't impress them I don't know what will," I said honestly.

Daryl grunted beside me. "What are they like?" he asked.

I glanced at him. "Who?"

"The garbage people."

"They're scavengers," I said honestly.

"Think this will go south?" he asked me, sitting against the bumper.

I perched on the bumper beside him. "I honestly don't know. They're weird. If they think they can take advantage of us they will. Their loyalty only goes as far as what we have bought and paid for. And we've only brokered the deal, we haven't paid yet."

Daryl nodded, chewing thoughtfully on his lip. "Rick isn't wrong ya know," he said casually.

I made a noise of disgust in the back of my throat. "I thought you were done fighting with me," I teased, because if we weren't teasing each other this conversation was going to turn serious in a heartbeat. I felt like we were both trying so hard not to argue we didn't quite know what we could say to one another. I didn't like it, it felt forced and uncomfortable.

But Daryl just snorted and shook his head. "Got Rick off your back didn't I?" He asked, squinting at me from behind the hair that hung in his eyes.

I swatted at his shoulder. He just grinned back at me but I could see the seriousness in his eyes. He was worried, more worried than he was willing to admit out loud.

He pressed his lips together thoughtfully and ran his hand over his lips. "Look, when we get there, I want ya close okay?" he said, he tried to keep his voice casual but I could hear the underlying tension. "I mean it Jo, I want you where I can reach you."

My heart started to pound in my chest. I loved him so much. I glanced over at him and quickly looked away before he noticed.

He was trying. Really trying. I could do no less. "Course," I assured him with a smile.

He nodded, and swung his crossbow around into his hands, checking it over. We sat in silence for the remaining half an hour until the others came. Gabriel, Aaron and Erick took the van, while the rest of us piled into an SUV.

I climbed into the backseat, sliding across to the middle so Daryl could sit beside me. Tara was already on the other side. She was watching me with big worried puppy dog eyes.

"Stop," I grumbled.

Beside me Daryl snorted but didn't say anything.

Tara looked back and forth from us to Rick and when none of the others said anything about me being along she settled back against the seat. I wouldn't say she accepted it, but at least she didn't chat incessantly at me while we drove.

I let myself lean into Daryl while we drove. He relaxed beside me, winding his fingers with my own. I exhaled, letting myself enjoy the quiet moment of peace. They were going to be few and far between and we needed to appreciate them when we had them. I rested my cheek against his shoulder and let myself nap. I sat up when I felt the SUV slow. I leaned forward to look out the windshield as we approached their main gate. Instead of stopping us however, they stepped aside, allowing us to enter without preamble.

Aaron parked the van and they climbed out. We followed, forming a semi-circle around the back of the van, facing out. I stood beside Rick, with Daryl on my left and Carl on the other side of him. We were outnumbered, but we were strong. Jadis stepped forward, her second and a man flanking her while all the rest of the garbage people surrounded us in that odd circle pattern they had used the last time we were here.

"You brought our guns yes?" Jadis asked, stepping towards Rick.

Rick nodded, smiling despite the tension around us. He stepped aside, holding his arm out, presenting the guns to her.

Jadis stepped forward cocking her head to the side as she inspected them. She picked up one of the hand guns, ejected the clip and then slid it back in.

"Operational?" she asked without looking at Rick. "All?"

Rick nodded, his hip cocked and his hands resting casually on his waist. He was trying too hard, he didn't like being outnumbered either. "To the best of my knowledge, yeah."

I kept my eyes moving, watching both the group that surrounded us and Jadis herself. They were a group that operated more off of non-verbal signals than outright orders, and I was the best we had at reading body language. Beside me Daryl was watching the group as well. His crossbow was still over his shoulder, but it was probably only because it would be rude and a little threatening if he were to bring it out now.

Jadis dropped the handgun and picked up another.

Rick motioned to the pile, stepping up towards her. "They may need some cleaning, we found supplies."

Both Jadis and her second turned in unison to look at Rick as though he was insane.

"Expect us?" the second asked in disbelief.

Rick turned to her, refusing to be intimidated by the second. "We cleaned some, oiled some. You can do the rest. We do this together," he said firmly.

Looking around at the people surrounding us I wasn't sure exactly how 'together' we were all going to end up being. Certainly not as much as Rick expected and wanted.

Jadis shook her head impatiently. "Yes, yes but operational?"

Rick pointed at the pile of guns. "Well you can fire a few, try them out if you like."

I didn't like the way this conversation was going. I could see in the set of Jadis's jaw it was not going to go our way. Daryl shifted his weight beside me, letting his eyes run over the people surrounding us. I could tell he was uncomfortable with our weaker position, and I didn't blame him.

"How many?" Jadis's second demanded.

"Sixty-three," I responded.

Jadis's eyes traveled to me. I met her gaze with my own and held it until she was the one to look away.

"We made an inventory," Tara's voice drew Jadis's attention from me. Jadis looked down on Tara with more annoyance than she had shown any one else in our group. Tara was obviously our weakest link and Jadis had figured that out almost immediately. She was not someone we could afford to discount, just because she and her group were odd. She was smart and observant. And you didn't get to be the leader of a group this size by being weak and making mistakes.

"No," Jadis snapped.

I ground my teeth, we were getting this wrong, but I wasn't sure how we could have done it better. These scavengers were so much different than us, they reacted in odd ways, and I didn't trust that. Not when we had so much riding on it.

"You mean the inventory?" Tara asked uncertainly, still holding the paper out towards Jadis.

I drew in an impatient breath.

"Not enough," Jadis said shaking her head.

"What are you talking about?" Michonne asked tightly from beside Rick. I could tell by the tone of her voice her patience was shot.

Jadis turned towards Michonne and looked her up and down. Jadis didn't back down but she didn't look like she was going to be getting any closer to Michonne either. Michonne took an aggressive step towards Jadis, and Rick reached out, catching her wrist and pulling her back. It was nice to not be the one who needed to be held back for once.

"You asked for a lot of guns that's what this is," Rick growled impatiently.

Jadis shrugged one shoulder. "Enough to fight your fight, us? Nearly twice. Need nearly twice," she clarified meeting my gaze instead of Rick's for some reason. Maybe she thought she would get farther with me than with Rick.

"We've wasted enough time," Michonne said, motioning towards the van. "We'll just take our guns and go."

"No," Jadis snapped anger lighting her eyes. "Our guns to take, our deal still on," she said staring Michonne down.

Michonne set her jaw but she refused to back down.

Rick scowled at Jadis and I could tell he was struggling with his own temper. "Not all of them, we're keeping ten of them for ourselves, to find more."

Jadis smiled seductively, her joy to bargain evident as she took a step closer to Rick. "Five," she growled.

"Ten," Rick refused to budge.

"Six," Jadis allowed.

"Ten," Rick growled.

Jadis tilted her head. "Nine...and the cat back."

Rick narrowed his eyes. "Twenty. I keep the cat. We get the guns. We fight together," he took another step forward. "Say yes," he ordered, his voice taking on that strange intonation they used.

Jadis stared at him, a pleased smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Yes," she agreed. "More soon, we'll fight."

Jadis and Rick both stepped back and it was like the tension snapped. The garbage people stepped forward and started collecting their portion of the guns. There were no words between them and had been no signal. I frowned as I watched them. They moved in an odd pattern as well, just as they had the last time we were here. Not necessarily walking in the shortest path between two points, but as though they each had a specific path they used.

Rick paced back and forth as he watched the scavengers collect their guns. Jadis met my gaze again. She over to me and stood beside me, a little too close, facing the same way I was. She glanced down at me first and then her eyes ran over Daryl.

"Little here to fight, yes?" she asked, looking back at me.

I blinked at her. "Wasn't the plan," I told her honestly. I wasn't sure where she was going with this, so I didn't see a reason to lie.

Jadis turned to me, a smirk on her face. "But always willing, Little. Little always ready."

I shrugged, not really wanting to talk to her anymore. I was exhausted with the way she insisted on speaking and more than a little upset she hadn't taken the deal. Sixty-three was more than enough guns. Asking for nearly twice that was an impossible request, and I couldn't help feeling like she was doing it on purpose, stringing us along.

"Upset with deal, yes?" she asked innocently.

I didn't respond, just watched as the garbage people worked.

When I didn't respond she shifted her weight agitatedly. "Upset with deal, Little make deal. Deal with Jadis Little. Rick deal, bad deal. Men," she spit out the word, shaking her head in profound disappointment. "Don't think, can't think, can't deal. Little can, Little should."

"Who the hell is Little?" Daryl asked stepping up next to me, his voice rasping dangerously. Jadis had him on edge to.

Jadis turned to regard him then, as though she had only just noticed him. "Your's?" she asked. She didn't look away from Daryl but it was obvious she was speaking to me.

We belonged to each other, we were equals in every way, but it was obvious in Jadis's mind and world men were seen as less somehow. I wasn't willing to let her see anything associated with Daryl as a weakness she could exploit. I stepped up to her deliberately invading her personal space. It didn't seem to bother her so I glared up at her, wishing not for the first time I was taller, more intimidating. "Yes," I growled at her, letting my hand drop to the knife at my waist.

A smirk twisted her lips as she met my eyes, then she flickered her eyes back to Daryl. She nodded. "See this," she said. "No harm," she said taking a step back away from me and holding her hands out to the side. "Little think on Jadis's words. Little fight, Little rule, Little deal."

I narrowed my eyes and scowled at her. She just smirked at me and walked away. These people were giving me a headache.

Once they had their guns we climbed into the SUV, Rick started it and drove away. His fist was gripped tightly around the steering wheel. When we were clear of the garbage peoples territory he slowed to turn back onto the highway.

"You have a few more days," Michonne said gently. "A few more days until 'What Happens Next'," she said reassuringly.

Rick slowed the car to turn and stopped. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. Beside me Tara jumped but bit her lip to contain her squeak of surprise.

"A few more days?" Rick asked in disbelief.

"That's right. We'll find more, we'll figure it out," Michonne assured him.

Rick just nodded and started driving again, his shoulders lowered in defeat. When we got back to the community Rick jumped out of the SUV almost as soon as he slammed it into park and stomped off. Michonne glanced back at us, her face drawn with worry.

"We'll get it worked out," I promised her. Her eyes followed Rick as he paced away from the SUV.

She nodded distractedly. "He-" she started to say and then she shook her head and climbed out of the car, trailing behind Rick.

I glanced over at Daryl. His mouth was drawn in a hard line and I could tell he was thinking.

I opened my mouth to say something but snapped it closed again. I didn't really know what to say.

"A few days," Daryl said thoughtfully.

I just nodded, leaning forward, pressing my hands against my forehead. A few days, it was an impossible time frame for an impossible request. There just weren't that many places left for us to raid.

"We'll have to go too," Daryl muttered. Then he threw open the door and stomped out angrily. I could tell he was upset but it wasn't at me, it was the situation. He stormed away.

"Are you going to follow him?" Tara asked in a small voice. I had nearly forgotten she was still sitting beside me.

I glanced over at her. She was looking at me uncertainly, chewing on her lip nervously. I really hadn't been very nice to her recently and I felt a little bad about that. Not necessarily bad enough to apologize, but I needed to make things right between us. Tara had been a good friend to me in the past. The things that were going on, what we were facing, none of it was her fault.

I snorted and shook my head. "There's a time and a place to talk to Daryl...and when he's upset like this...this isn't it."

Tara nodded. "Will you guys really go out?"

I nodded, staring out the windshield distractedly. "We have to, no choice now," I said and I unbuckled my seat belt and moved to climb out of the car.

"Jo!" Tara called after me.

I stopped and looked back at her. "Yeah?"

She licked her lips, her eyes wide and nervous. Her hands were fidgeting, spinning a ring around her finger.

"Nothing has changed Jo, you guys still shouldn't go. It's still too dangerous with you hurt..." she dragged out.

I shook my head, her continued naivety was a constant frustration. "Everything has changed Tara," I said exhaustedly and I walked away, back towards the house.

"Jo!" she called back after me.

"What?" I asked impatiently. I just wanted to get home so I could start packing. Once Daryl had settled down enough to talk he would come find me. It made the most sense for us to leave tonight. There was no sense putting it off.

Tara blanched and stepped back. "Nothing," she said and she hurried away towards her house.

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Daryl

Jo and I were just finishing up packing our bags to go out on the run. We had been back only a couple hours, and as much as I would have liked her to get one more good night of rest, we needed to get out on the road. She was packing up what little food we could spare for us, our bags laid out on the kitchen counter. She stared down at the small pile thoughtfully, her small nose wrinkled in concentration. Then she moved a few of the things back into the cupboard.

"You guys should take those," Carl said from his spot on one of the stools. He was still mad his dad wouldn't let him come with either us or him and Michonne.

"I'll hunt," I assured him.

Carl nodded, but looked a little like he wanted to argue. His eyes moved to Jo and I could see he was just as worried about her as I was. Well, maybe not just as worried, but pretty close. She was better, but she wasn't moving with the same fluidity she normally did. Instead of being graceful, everything was small movements, contained and tense, like she was waiting for it to hurt. I hated to see that on her face.

It was early. Too early for her to be going out beyond the wall, let alone on a run like this but there wasn't much I could do about it. With it just the two of us though we stood a better chance of keeping things quiet. Just scouting and searching, we didn't need to engage unless we had to. And I could keep Jo safe as long as she let me.

There was a quiet knock at the door. I glanced over at Carl, frowning.

"Dad asked Tara to come over," he said, jumping off his stool to let her in.

Tara stepped into the house looking over us all as we all moved around the room, making final preparations.

"So..." Tara started to say to no one in particular.

Rick stepped up to her. "Thank you for coming. We're headed back out. I need you to watch over Judith and Carl for the next few days."

"Of-of course," she stammered.

Carl made a noise of disgust but Rick silenced him with a look. I glanced over at Jo and shared an amused smile with her. Her green eyes were sparkling as she watched Carl and his dad. Sometimes I thought she was maybe a bit of a bad influence on Carl, encouraging him when Rick would rather not.

I just shook my head at her. Moments like this still felt surreal to me, like I must still be back there. Rick, Michonne, Jo, Carl, Tara and I all standing around a kitchen. I ran a hand over my eyes and blinked hard a few times, just to make sure I was really here. When I opened my eyes again Jo was watching me carefully.

"We ready to go?" I asked her, glancing at our packs.

She nodded slowly, her face drawn in concern. I forced a smile and swung my backpack over my shoulder and snatched hers up before she could touch it. She gave me a frustrated scowl. She really didn't realize how cute she could be when she did that. I swallowed, she would probably kick my ass for thinking that.

"But what about..." Tara started to say, stepping towards Jo and I before we even got halfway to the door. "So, you're all just leaving then?" she asked in disbelief.

"Don't have a choice," Rick said nodding. "We only got a few days to find more guns. Jo and Daryl are headed South, Michonne and I will head North..." Rick moved around the kitchen gathering the last of their supplies.

He pressed a kiss to the top of Little Ass Kicker's head and then stopped in front of Carl. He pointed at his chest and stared down at his son. "Stay here, keep out of trouble," he said firmly.

"Yeah, you got it dad," Carl agreed, but he didn't meet his dad's eyes.

Beside me Jo snorted, but she didn't say anything.

Michonne slung her katana across her body and kissed Little Ass Kicker goodbye. "Listen to Tara," she told Carl firmly.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled with a put upon sigh.

Jo pulled on her jacket, her movements tight and careful, but she managed without grimacing. She hugged Little Ass Kicker and ruffled Carl's hair as she walked by towards the door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said in a teasing voice.

"Course," Carl responded looking offended.

Jo laughed and shook her head as the four of us made our way towards the door together, leaving Tara standing alone in the middle of the room.

"Wait!" Tara suddenly yelled.

We all froze in confusion, looking at each other before stepping back towards her. Little Ass Kicker whimpered at the loud voice, but Carl quickly scooped his sister up.

"Tara?" Rick asked in confusion.

"Wait," she said again. "You can't go." Her eyes were wide and her shoulders were heaving like she had just got done running. "I have to tell you something."

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Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed the update. Can't wait for the next one, can't imagine Jo will be too happy once she finds out Tara lied to them all ;) Thank you all so much for your continued support. I really appreciate it! Who is excited for the season premier!? Only seven more days!

Also I wanted to let you guys know I have started writing a Last One Standing AU called Last One Fighting. It is for all you who secretly (or not so secretly ;)) ship a little Jo-Negan! It is an alternative universe in which Negan and the saviors were the ones to rescue Jo from Woodbury instead of Daryl and Rick. The first few chapters are up! Anyway, check it out if it's something that sounds interesting! Thanks!