Hope you enjoy this one ;)

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Jo

I didn't like this and I didn't trust it. It didn't feel like a trap, not from a big group, but there was something off about the good priest. I just couldn't put my finger on it as he led us towards his church. Rick and Daryl were up on the lead, keeping close to him. I think they were both feeling a little overprotective with everything that had happened.

The priest led us down a small path that crossed a brook. There were some large boulders that we were able to hop across. The forest opened up into a clearing. There was a picturesque small, white church with a steeple and a small cross. The sign out front said it was episcopal but I didn't know what that meant. My knowledge of major religions left much to be desired.

Father Gabriel marched up the front steps to the large wooden doors. He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and moved to open the door. Rick reached out and stopped him.

"Hold up, we would like to have a look around. You understand. We would like to hang on to our squirrels."

My lips twitched but I didn't smile. I met Rick's gaze and he jerked his chin to the right. I nodded and walked around the right side of the building. Rick, Michonne, Daryl and Glenn were going in the front door.

I didn't like it, didn't like not knowing what was happening in there. I kept one ear on them while I prowled around the building. I turned the corner to go around back and flinched as a large body came into my view.

I jerked up my kukri and was ready to attacked.

"Whoa, whoa, easy killer," Abraham said, holding his hands up, "We're on the same side remember?" He flashed me a smile and I scowled at him.

I froze for a moment, letting my eyes drift behind him.

His smile fell. "We're clear that way," he said gruffy, he seemed miffed that I was double checking his work.

I nodded. "This way too." Then I turned to head back around the front of the church. I still couldn't hear anything inside the church, but the thick wood shutters could easily muffle any sounds. I was anxious to get back and check on the others.

"Where'd you learn?" Abraham called after me.

I glanced over my shoulder at him and frowned. I didn't like talking about myself with other people, but I was surprised no one had told him already.

"I tried asking Maggie about you but she wouldn't say nothing. Just said something bad happened to you. I asked Daryl and he told me it weren't none of my business."

I nodded. "That about sums it up."

Abraham cocked his head. "Come on girl, you don't learn how to fight the way you do just by being out here even if you were on your own."

I snorted and shook my head. "Gladiator matches," I called glibly over my shoulder like it didn't matter to me, like it wasn't the most horrific thing I had faced in my life. I stalked back towards the group. I could almost feel his surprise but he stopped following me. I didn't like the feeling that he was evaluating us all. His priority wasn't the group, it was Eugene and his 'mission' to DC, which meant we couldn't rely on him, not really. His loyalty would only go so far and I wasn't interested in finding out how far that was, I just wanted him gone.

Rick let out a quiet two note whistle, the same one Daryl and I often used. I turned the corner to find everyone waiting on the steps. Rick dropped the keys to the church back into father Gabriel's hand. Everyone filed back out of the church

"I spent months here without stepping out the front door. If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising."

"Thank for this," Carl said with a warm smile at Gabriel. I frowned at him. It was odd for Carl to trust so quickly.

Daryl stepped back down towards the road and turned in a slow circle, keeping his eyes on the surrounding forest. Something about this place had him uneasy as well. It made me feel better. It wasn't unheard of for me to be a little paranoid or overcautious, but it was rare Daryl and I overreacted.

Abraham came back around the side of the church. "I found a short bus out back. It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he doesn't want it. Looks like we found ourselves some transport. You understand what's at stake here right?" Abraham asked looking at Rick sharply.

Rick stood next to Carl and ran his hand over Judith's soft blonde hair. "Yes I do." He said quietly.

Michonne stepped up, I could tell she didn't like the way Abraham was pressuring Rick. "Now that we can take a breath-" she started to say but Abraham cut her off.

"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down," he growled.

"We need supplies, no matter what we do next," she argued.

Rick nodded and looked back at us all. "That's right. Water, food, ammunition," and Rick turned away and walked back into the church. He made it perfectly clear the conversation was over.

Daryl stepped back up to the steps and glanced at Abraham. "Short bus ain't going nowhere. Bring you back some baked beans," he said glibly and followed Rick into the church. Abraham also seemed to be rubbing Daryl the wrong way.

Glenn stepped up to Abraham next. "One way or another we are doing what Rick says, we aren't splitting up again," he ushered Maggie into the church in front of him.

"What he said," Tara said brightly and followed Maggie and Glenn.

Sasha and Bob were chatting quietly together then turned to Abraham. "We want to roll with you but...what she said," Bob said nodding after Tara. Sasha nodded in agreement and they went into the church.

Abraham tightened his jaw and looked up at the trees. Eugene and Rosita stood behind him looking equally as disappointed.

I rubbed a hand over my eyes. There was way too much testosterone flying around this place and it was going to mess with the group dynamics if we weren't careful. Eugene was meek and wouldn't be a problem, but Abraham was going to push his case soon, and it was going to be an issue.

Without a word to them I headed up the stairs and into the church. I climbed two of the steps when Abraham reached out and grabbed my arm as I passed.

"What about you?" He demanded. "Even a little girl like you could make a difference."

I dropped one of my hands to my kukri but paused, letting him see. I looked down at his hand on me and back up at his eyes. "You want to let go now," I said in a quiet, dangerous voice.

Abraham glanced over my head towards the door of the church and I knew that Daryl was standing there. As much as I appreciated Daryl looking out for me, I needed Abraham to understand who he was dealing with. He had been pressing me and doubting me since we first met and I was done.

I kept the arm under his hand perfectly relaxed while I coiled the other muscles. He was still looking at who I assumed was Daryl. He was bigger than me, stronger, but I was quicker and he wasn't expecting me to do anything.

I grabbed the hand holding me and twisted the small bones in his wrist. I stopped just shy of damaging them but they were gonna hurt for a few hours. I kicked out, I normally would aim the blow for an attacker's knee but I wasn't trying to incapacitate, just educate. The heel of my boot landed firmly on the large muscle in his thigh. He grunted in pain, still clutching his wrist to his chest. If he would have been on solid ground it would have only knocked him back, but he was standing on the bottom step. He tried to catch himself but I was still in motion. I balanced on the railing and kicked him in the chest, this time helping gravity propel him back. He fell back into the dirt. By the time he landed and looked up at me in shock I had already thrown two knives. Each sank into the dirt only an inch from each of his hands.

He looked back at me with shock written all over his face. I was standing perfectly calm on two feet, still on the stairs, a knife in each hand. I heard Daryl step up closer behind me and adjust his crossbow. Daryl felt tense behind me and I wondered if he was prepared for how mad Abraham was going to be over me knocking him on his ass.

Instead Abraham started laughing.

"Damn girl," he said in appreciation. He laughed again and climbed to his feet dusting himself off. He pulled both knives out of the ground and swaggered up to me, still chuckling. "Point taken," he said with a gleam in his eye.

He lifted his eyes over my shoulder once more. "Your girl's got some moves."

I snatched my knives from his hands. "I don't belong to anyone," I growled out, I resheathed the knives and stalked into the church.

"Yeah, okay," I heard Abraham chuckle behind me.

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Daryl

I scowled at Abraham but turned and followed Jo back into the church. Her words hurt more than I wanted to admit, but I knew a lot of it came from The Governor claiming her as his. She was strong and independent and that wouldn't ever change. She walked in and stepped aside into a pew so she could drop her stuff. I walked around her and went a few up before I did the same.

"How'd you survive here for so long? Where did your supplies come from?" Rick was still grilling Gabriel loudly at the front of the church.

"Luck," he replied in a calm, happy voice. He was starting to get on my last nerve. There was something going on with this guy. "Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me."

Carl stepped up and took Lil Ass Kicker from Rick.He brought her into a pew a few away from Jo and bounced the happy baby, making silly faces at her. Jo looked down at the baby and a wistful smile crossed her face. Then she frowned and turned back to her gear.

"The food lasted a long time. And then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place near by. Except for one."

Rick shouldered his rifle. "What kept you from it?"

Father blanched. "It's overrun."

"How many?"

"A dozen or so, maybe more..."

Rick nodded and let his gaze travel over the group. Nobody looked overly concerned. "We can handle a dozen."

Sasha stepped up. "Bob and I will go with you. Tyreese should stay here, help keep Judith safe."

Rick looked up at Tyreese in surprise. "That'll be okay?" he asked uncertainly.

Tyreese smiled, his eyes going to where Judith and Carl were playing. "Sure. You ever need me to watch her...need anything for her. I'm right here."

"I'm grateful for it. And everything else," Rick said stepping up to Tyreese and clapping him on the shoulder.

"I'll draw you a map," Father offered, heading towards a back room.

"You don't need to. You're coming with us."

"I'm not going to be of any help. You saw me. I'm no good around those things." he argued.

"You're coming with us," Rick growled.

Gabriel nodded and moved into the backroom to prepare himself. Rick moved back down the aisle to talk to Carl. I couldn't hear what they said, but Carl nodded and handed Lil Ass Kicker off to Jo.

I didn't think I had ever seen her hold the baby. Jo looked startled at first, but then gave Lil Ass Kicker a gentle hug. She swung her around to her hip so she could keep going through her things like she had done it every day of her life. I frowned as I tried to remember how old her son had been when he died. Young, I thought, but I didn't know how young. It startled me to realize I didn't really know much about her family before the turn.

Rick and Carl had a quiet, but intense conversation that had Carl looking determined when he returned to Jo and Lil Ass Kicker. Carl laughed at something Jo said and tickled the baby in her arms. Lil Ass Kicker squealed in delight and snuggled into Jo's arms.

Rick stepped up in front of me, catching my attention. "We need to get water," he said seriously.

I glanced quickly down at my bag in my hands so he wouldn't notice I had been staring and nodded. "You want me on that?"

Rick agreed. "I'm taking Michonne, Sasha and Bob. Maggie, Tara and Glenn are checking the other stores in the area." Rick looked towards Carl and Jo then back at me with a faint smile. "You and Jo should go fill the jugs of water from the stream."

I nodded, chewing on my lip. "You sure?"

He ran a hand over his mouth. He looked tired. "Yeah, we'll be fine. Stay safe brother." He said patting me on the shoulder.

"You to," I said and I headed towards the back of the church where Jo was.

Lil Ass Kicker squealed as I approached and held out her hands. Jo was smiling down at her and when she met my eyes, the smile still on her face something in my chest constricted. "Water run," I said, my voice came out hoarse and I cleared my throat. "You up for it?"

Jo's eyes widened in surprise but she nodded. "Yeah."

Carl stepped up and took Lil Ass Kicker from her arms. She slid her knife back into the sheath and stepped up to me. "Let's do it."

We grabbed the jugs and following Gabriel's directions, headed toward the stream. We didn't talk on our way there. We hadn't really talked at all since the prison. We had been around each other but hadn't said much. It made me nervous and uncomfortable. I just wanted things to be back to the way they were. I thought about Carol's suggestion.

I cleared my throat.

"Jo?"

"Hmm?" she asked glancing up at me. She hopped lightly out into onto a boulder in the middle of the stream. There the water was running the fastest and would be the cleanest. She straddled the stream, her feet on different rocks. Her body was stretched elegantly as she balanced easily. She bent down and held the jug beneath the surface. 

"What happened? After the prison?" I asked in a soft voice.

She looked up at me so sharply her balance swayed. She caught herself before she dumped in the stream. She pressed her lips into a tight line and looked away. I didn't push. Instead I turned my attention to the forest, keeping an eye out for walkers. She finished filling the other jugs and hopped lightly back onto the bank. I took two of the jugs and started walking back towards the church in silence.

"Hey I get it," I finally said after I couldn't stand the quiet anymore. "You don't want to talk about it that's fine. But Jo...I gotta know, are you okay?" I looked over at her.

Her jaw was set and she was glaring ahead down the road. Keeping focused on the task. Her lips were set in a line. "Gotta be," she said firmly.

I frowned, I hated that. It felt like we should be beyond that. "We get to start over. All of us, with each other." I choked over the last words and glanced over at her when I spoke them.

"We got lucky," she said in a quiet voice. "We all should be dead," she snorted humorlessly. "Me several times over."

I didn't know what to say to that. We came over a rise and there was a car parked on the side of the road. "I'll check it," she offered.

"All right," I replied.

She walked faster, so she was ahead of me and approached the car. She looked it over, searching it and popped the trunk. There was a battery charger in the back. She reached down and turned it on. The charger lit up. She quickly turned it off.

"Hey," I said walking up to her. "We ain't dead. And whatever happened, happened..."I sucked in a breath, steeling my courage over the next words. "Let's start over."

She looked back at me, hurt and fear and wonder in her eyes. "I want to," she said in  a quiet, uncertain voice.

"Well we can," I promised taking another step closer to her. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I wasn't sure it's what she wanted.

She looked me up and down and ran her tongue nervously over her lips. I followed the motion and it was like a kick in the gut. I wanted her. Not just physically. I wanted her to be mine.

She looked away from my intense gaze and cleared her throat. "Should start right up, we should leave this here for backup in case things go south at the church."

I nodded, pinching my lips together. She was still keeping me at a distance and I wouldn't push.

She bent down and picked up the jugs of water. "Want me to carry one of those?" I asked motioning with one hand, but my fingers slipped and the jug in that hand sailed towards her, landing at her feet.

She looked up at me, a small smirk on her lips.

I covered my eyes with my hand, embarrassed.

"Ah, no," she said chuckling softly, a gentle smile lighted her face.

I found I was willing to embarrass myself a whole lot worse than that if it put that smile on Jo's face. "Hey Jo," I said, glancing back at her nervously.

"Hmm?" she asked, still smiling.

Unable to help myself I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. It was a quick and gentle kiss. I put my forehead against hers. "I ain't going nowhere."

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