❛ Everything you say to me takes me one step to the edge and I'm about to break. I need a little room to breathe. ❜

SEASON 3, EPISODE 11
i ain't a judas

━━━━━━ day 312.

RICK RETURNED A while later, and immediately Bianca could see the difference. Hershel's words seemed to do something. He now held himself with leadership, determination, and the strength to hold them together. Like the night after the farm burned down, as he had throughout the winter as they hopped house to house and when they first made it into the prison. He was finally confident of keeping them safe again, at least for now.

⠀⠀⠀"Field's filled with walkers," Rick stated immediately, hardly waiting for them to pay attention to his arrival. "Bianca and Cal's trick helped some, but the fire died out during the night. I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch."

⠀⠀⠀"I'll get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence," Daryl stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Or use some of the cars to put the bus in place," Michonne suggested.

⠀⠀⠀"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets," Hershel stated immediately, grounding them back to reality.

⠀⠀⠀"So, we're trapped in here," Glenn said glumly. "There's barely any food or ammo."

⠀⠀⠀"Been here before. We'll be alright," Daryl assured him.

⠀⠀⠀"That's when it was just us! Before there was a snake in the nest!" Glenn snapped back at him, surprising Bianca.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca jumped, her eyes widening. She was worried by the day that Glenn was starting to lose himself. Her eye caught Maggie's, and she looked equally as distraught and stressed by the change.

⠀⠀⠀"Man, we gonna go through this again?" Daryl asked, shoulders squaring as he stomped toward Glenn. "Look, Merle's stayin' here. He's with us now. Get used to it."

⠀⠀⠀"Hey," Rick snapped, stepping between them.

⠀⠀⠀"All y'all," Daryl yelled, flinging his hand out, then stepped out of Rick's way and walked up the stairs to his cell.

⠀⠀⠀"Seriously, Rick. I don't think Merle living here is really gonna fly," Glenn continued, putting his energy into having the same conversation with Rick with a scowl across his face.

⠀⠀⠀"I can't kick him out," Rick hissed back.

⠀⠀⠀"I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you," Glenn bit back.

⠀⠀⠀"Merle has military experience," Hershel interrupted before the conversation could get out of hand. "He may be erratic, but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother."

⠀⠀⠀"What if we solve both problems at once?" Glenn asked, looking between Hershel and Rick hopefully. "Deliver Merle to the Governor. Bargaining chip. Give him his traitor, maybe declare a truce."

⠀⠀⠀"We've done this shit before in Atlanta," Bianca seethed, growing tired of this never-ending conversation. "Last time, we lucked out with Daryl sticking around. You pawn Merle off, and we're dead to him."

⠀⠀⠀Glenn stared at Bianca for a moment, then his eyes flickered behind her to Cal.

⠀⠀⠀"What do you think, Cal?" Glenn asked him. Bianca felt like she was about to explode into flames at that. They were friends, and he quickly turned to Cal as if she weren't even there, as if Cal were her keeper. "Would the Governor take the deal?"

⠀⠀⠀"I—I don't know," Cal said nervously. Bianca could see through him as he tried not to step on anyone's toes, especially hers. He glanced at her, and when she sighed, waving her hand for him to continue, he did. "My time at Woodbury was mostly inside the walls. I didn't deal with the people they brought in. It was part of our agreement."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca was annoyed he didn't just lie for the sake of putting the idea off the table, but she knew him better than that. For one, he was a terrible liar regarding direct questions. He was fine if he could avoid things by omission, but something so blatant was out of the question.

⠀⠀⠀"We should talk," Rick stated, looking at Cal, and Bianca could see the goosebumps spread over his skin. "I need to know what you can tell me about the Governor. Whatever Merle hasn't told me already."

⠀⠀⠀Rick turned on his heel and left the cell block like a hurricane. Cal turned to Bianca as if waiting for her approval. Instead, she gave him a thin smile and then nodded for him to follow Rick while she stayed behind.

BIANCA WAS LEFT inside with Hershel and Judith when Carl scrambled in, announcing that Andrea was approaching the gates. Everyone moved to collect their guns, including Cal, and went to greet her warmly.

⠀⠀⠀After about ten minutes of waiting and Andrea walked inside. Bianca couldn't say she missed her, but she was happy to know she was alive and healthy. She looked tired but unharmed since she'd been in Woodbury.

⠀⠀⠀"Andy!" Bianca greeted with a smile, waving her hand in greeting. Andrea scowled at the nicknames, and Bianca chuckled at the comforting feeling of what it used to be like for a minute. Of being locked in the department store in Atlanta half a lifetime away and not yet worn by the world like she was yet.

⠀⠀⠀"Will you ever stop calling me that?" Andrea asked, a hint of a smile coming to her face.

⠀⠀⠀She seemed happy to have a second to remember what it used to be and approached Bianca. Andrea stuck her hand out for Bianca, and she appreciated that Andrea knew not to try and hug her. The two shook hands with easy smiles.

⠀⠀⠀"Glad to see you're okay," Andrea whispered, patting the back of Bianca's hand.

⠀⠀⠀"You, too," Bianca admitted.

⠀⠀⠀Carol walked down the stairs and greeted Andrea with a bear hug. They held each other tightly, a rush of emotions falling over them. Carol had been the last to see Andrea when they escaped the farm, and no one knew if Andrea had made it. Carol carried the guilt with her through the winter, and now it was finally released, knowing Andrea was okay.

⠀⠀⠀"Hershel, my God!" Andrea exclaimed when she separated from Carol and noticed Hershel missing one of his legs. "Where's Shane?" she asked, turning to Rick.

⠀⠀⠀A shock of cold filled the room, running down Bianca's spine. Andrea had missed a lot, and they were about to relive it. Cal had sat beside her, resting his arm over her shoulders and holding her tightly to his side.

⠀⠀⠀Rick's face fell, and his eyes darted to the floor in shame. He shook his head silently, unable to say it.

⠀⠀⠀"And Lori?"

⠀⠀⠀Bianca bowed her head. Her name was enough to wrack grief through Bianca's body. She could feel the tears coming close to breaking, but she held them down as Cal's comforting hand rubbed up and down her back.

⠀⠀⠀"She had a girl. Lori didn't survive," Hershel answered for them.

⠀⠀⠀A tear slipped down Bianca's face, but that was all she would allow.

⠀⠀⠀"Neither did T-Dog," Maggie added before Andrea could continue to dull out everyone they had lost cluelessly.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm so sorry," Andrea said with her chest, trying to hold it together. Her eyes searched around the room, and she spotted Carl, who had sprouted since the farm. "Carl," she called happily.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca glanced at him. Carl just stared at Andrea uncomfortably. His lips formed a tight line as he swayed from one foot to another.

⠀⠀⠀"Rick, I—" Andrea tried again, then stopped herself. "You all live here?"

⠀⠀⠀"Here and the cell block," Glenn answered her, his tone not as comforting as Andrea might've expected.

⠀⠀⠀"There?" Andrea asked, pointing to the open door. Glenn nodded in reply. "Well, can I go in?"

⠀⠀⠀Rick stepped in her way and said, "I won't allow that."

⠀⠀⠀"I'm not the enemy, Rick," Andrea told him with a nervous laugh.

⠀⠀⠀"We had that field and courtyard until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up," Rick told her.

⠀⠀⠀"He said you fired first," Andrea defended.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, he's lyin'," Rick sneered.

⠀⠀⠀"He killed an inmate who survived in here," Hershel stated.

⠀⠀⠀"We liked him," Daryl said. "He was one of us."

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't know anything about that," Andrea admitted with a sigh, resting her hand on her lips, then flickered her eyes back at Rick desperately. "As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out."

⠀⠀⠀"That was days ago," Glenn retorted, unconvinced.

⠀⠀⠀"I told you, I came as soon as I could," Andrea reiterated. She looked around at them, the people she once considered her friends. They were tense and hardly trusted her as they allowed them into their home. Not hers. Andrea's narrowed gaze turned to Michonne and asked, "What have you told them?"

⠀⠀⠀"Nothing," Michonne stated with a shrug and a smile.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't get it," Andrea said, frustrated with their hostility. "I left Atlanta with you people, and now I'm the odd man out?"

⠀⠀⠀"He almost killed Michonne, and he would have killed us," Glenn bit back.

⠀⠀⠀"With his finger on the trigger!" Andrea exclaimed, pointing hastily at Merle, who perched on the catwalk, staring down at her. "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?" she asked, turning to Bianca. Then her eyes caught Cal's. "And-and him. He was Philip's number two! You're gonna trust him and not me?"

⠀⠀⠀"Andrea, shut up," Bianca told her. She definitely didn't miss Andrea.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Andrea asked, taken aback.

⠀⠀⠀"Cal is the one who helped me, and I got him out," Michonne explained, the smug smile dancing across her lips, taunting Andrea.

⠀⠀⠀Andrea let out a loud breath, trying to calm herself as she took everything in. Her hands rested on her face, then pulled away.

⠀⠀⠀"Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done, but I am here trying to bring us together," Andrea explained desperately. "We have to work this out."

⠀⠀⠀"There's nothin' to work out," Rick told her simply. The conversation finished as soon as she had started. "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will."

⠀⠀⠀"We can settle this," Andrea begged him. "There is room at Woodbury for all of you."

⠀⠀⠀Merle chuckled. "You know better than that."

⠀⠀⠀"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel asked her. "Did he say that?"

⠀⠀⠀"No," Andrea said under her breath.

⠀⠀⠀"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Because he's gearing up for war!" Andrea spouted her frustration, throwing her hands up as she turned to him. "The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack."

⠀⠀⠀"I'll tell you what," Daryl told her. "Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye."

⠀⠀⠀"We've taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war? He's got one," Glenn stated definitely.

⠀⠀⠀"Rick," Andrea said, the desperation now reeking off her. "If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

⠀⠀⠀"Andy, we don't need to be told what we've got left," Bianca told her, rubbing her hand against her forehead.

⠀⠀⠀"You wanna make this right," Rick told Andrea, raising his brows and standing until they were nose to nose. "Get us inside."

⠀⠀⠀"No."

⠀⠀⠀"Then we got nothing to talk about," Rick stated and left her as he walked back into the cellblock.

⠀⠀⠀"There are innocent people!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Okay, I need y'all's opinion!! Do you want to read the episode 'Clear' which would feature only Cal and no Bianca or should we skip straight to the last two episodes? I'm torn between the two options :/

SONG: One Step Closer by Linkin Park

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like. However, this is an all kind of reader safe space. So even if you ghost read or comment every chapter, I hope you know it means the world to me that you've come into this fic ♡ I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one.