HARLOW AND NORA STOOD OUTSIDE IN THE COURTYARD, THEIR HAIR DAMP FROM THE SHOWERS.

They stared out into the field. At all the kids playing. The horses, the pigs, the crops.

This was a real community. A place they could belong.

Nora nudged the redhead next to her, "So... can I say 'I told you so'?"

Harley rolled her eyes with a smile, "I was wrong. This place is great." A young blonde walked by with a baby in her arms, "Is that a real baby?"

Nora stepped forward to get the woman's attention, "Hi, sorry, it's just... it's been a while since we've seen a baby."

The blonde smiled, "Oh, it's no problem. My sister mentioned Daryl brought in some new people."

"Sister?"

"Maggie." The blonde explained, "I'm Beth." She bounced the baby on her hip, "And this is Judith."

"Nora." The brunette motioned back to Harley, "This is Harlow. She's deaf so just make sure she can read your lips and she'll understand you." Nora turned to Harley, "This is Beth and Judith."

Beth nodded and smiled at Harley, "Hi."

Harlow gave her a small wave before smiling at the baby in her arms, "You wanna hold her?" Beth asked them, "She likes people."

Nora nodded, "We're clean, we swear. Just took showers."

Beth held out the baby and Nora took her into her arms, holding her to her hip, "Hi." Nora smiled at the baby, "Oh, you're so cute." Nora looked over at the blonde, "You a first time mom?"

Beth shook her head, "Oh, no, she ain't mine. Her dad is around here somewhere, I just watch her for him."

Nora got the gist, "Oh, I'm sorry-" She began, handing Judith back.

"It's fine!" She smiled, "A lot of people assume I'm her mom."

"Hey." Nora looked over to see a tall man approaching. He had a swagger... something that men hardly pull off.

Boy, but he did.

Beth handed the man Judith, "She just had her nap. I was gonna get her bottle."

"I got it, thanks, Beth." The man smirked at her,

"Oh, and this is Nora and Harlow. Daryl picked them up yesterday." Beth introduced them,

He nodded at them, "Rick."

Nora gave him a small smile, "We were just, uh, talking about how gorgeous she is."

"She's gonna get a big head with all the compliments she gets." Rick smiled down at his daughter, she tried to tug at his beard.

Judith reached out for Nora and she let the baby grip her finger, "Ah, just means everyone will look out for her. She's lucky."

"That she is." 

Judith began to fuss, "I'll go warm her bottle up." Beth stated,

"I should go with you." He nodded at the two girls, "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you, too." Nora responded before they walked away.

Harley nudged her and snickered, "What?" Nora scoffed and signed as she spoke,

"He's cute."

Nora rolled her eyes before walking towards the grill where people were lining up to get food.

That night, Harley snuck out of the cell without waking Nora. She made her way outside, sitting on top of one of the picnic tables.

She laid back and stared up at the stars. She was able to finally relax after months, possibly years, of being on the run.

But they were in a community with fences... walls.

They were safe.

Harley spotted something move close to her right and she slipped off the table and grabbed her knife. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she was able to see the man next to her.

It was the guy that brought them in. Daryl.

He was saying something but she couldn't see well enough to tell what it was. She rolled her eyes, putting her knife away before digging in her jacket pocket, grabbing a pen and small notebook.

'Don't you know not to sneak up on a deaf person?'

She handed it to him before sitting back down on the table, placing her feet on the bench. He stared at her for a moment before sitting next to her and writing on the paper below her note,

'Sorry'

Harley shrugged, taking back the pen, 'It's fine'.

She laid back against the table again and Daryl handed the notebook back. She grabbed it and brought it close to her face, trying to read it.

He handed her a small flashlight and she smiled before taking it from him, turning it on to read his letter,

'Can't sleep?'

Harley glanced over at him, shaking her head. She quickly scribbled her response before handing it back to him and placing a hand behind her head, cushioning it from the hard wood below her.

'I just like being able to relax without worrying about being attacked'

He read it before nodding, setting the notebook down between them before leaning back on his elbows, staring out into the courtyard.

Harley turned her head slightly to stare at him. He put a cigarette to his lips, the orange ring brightening before fading as he removed it from between his parted lips and blew smoke into the air.

She was used to the odor of cigarette smoke. In most of her foster homes, the adults smoked. She knew all the reasons for smoking.

To fight addiction to something else like hard drugs or food, to keep your fingers busy. Or for the burn.

She had a foster mother that only smoked when she was nervous. Another foster father smoked to get himself off meth.

Harley remembered her first drag of tobacco for a cigarette she stole from her fifth foster mother. She hated it. She hated the burning in her lungs. After, she never touched a cigarette again.

Harley wondered why he smoked. Is he trying to keep his mind off something? Or is it a habit from the old world that he uses for normalcy?

She reached for the notebook again, writing her question down before letting out a short whistle to get his attention,

'What about you?'

She watched as he stared down at the notebook. He didn't have an exact answer.

Some people were hardwired to stay up, to keep a look out, to sleep with one eye open. Even within these walls and fences, you couldn't be one hundred percent safe.

Daryl seemed like one of these people. It made him a survivor.

Harley reached for her notebook again before writing something else down and holding it up for him to read, 'It's okay. I get it.'

She stood, tucking the small notebook into her pocket before signing 'goodnight' to him and walking back inside the 'D' block.