ONCE THE SUN ROSE OVER THE HORIZON, THE GROUP HIT THE ROAD, MOST OF THE GROUP SQUEEZED INTO THE RV.

Carl, Judith, and Michonne went in a sedan with Rick, who was able to start the car in the small town they hunkered down in for the night.

They placed Eric on the bed in the back of the vehicle, and Aaron stayed with him. The room kept the door open, but the group gave the couple some privacy and stayed away.

Vivian sat on the couch with Liam on her lap, the toddler sleeping against her chest. Eugene, Maggie, and Tara were playing a card game, which kept everyone entertained during their trip.

Eventually, the RV broke down.

And they were so close, too. Only a couple of miles away from the walls, according to Aaron.

The entire group except for Aaron and Eric waited outside the RV while Abraham and Glenn checked the engine, since Glenn had been the one to work on the RV with Dale way back in the day,

Vivian stood in the grass on the side of the road, letting Liam play to keep him entertained.

Marcie sat on the road next to Maggie and Noah, keeping an eye on Daryl who stood on top of the RV to keep watch,

"He seems to be doin' better." Maggie commented, plucking at the grass growing in between the cracks on the asphalt,

"Who? Daryl?"

"Who else would you be starin' at?" Maggie joked, a small smirk on her face,

Marcie shrugged, leaning back on her hands, "He doesn't want to talk about what happened in Atlanta. He just needs to work through it until he's ready to talk." She turned to stare at the farm girl, "I am sorry about Beth. Had I known it was gonna end that way, I would've-"

"It went the way it was always going to." Maggie looked away, wiping a tear from her cheek, "The way it needed to."

Marcie knew it was true, but she still wished something could've been done.

"Can't win." Abraham grumbled, punching the RV, "Might as well paint it red, put a ladder on it."

"All we need is another battery." Glenn told him,

"Where in the hell are we gonna find another battery?" Abraham asked, looking around at the woods surrounding the group,

"Right over here." Glenn patted his shoulder before leading the red head over to the open door, opening the step to reveal a spare battery,

Carl wandered over to Vivian, bouncing his sister in his arms. Vivian gave him a small smile before wrapping an arm around his shoulder,

"Do you think this place is as good as it sounds?" Carl asked her,

"Yeah, I do."

The sound of the engine starting caused everyone to cheer. They went to enter the RV again, but Rick wandered off into the trees to take a moment,

"Is he okay?" Vivian asked Michonne as she walked Carl and Judith back over to the sedan,

"He will be." The woman answered.

Once he got back, they all got back into the vehicles. Rick pulled up to the gates, and everyone piled out.

Marcie stared up at the large metal walls. This place was definitely secured from outside dangers, but what was on the inside? She could hear people on the inside, and she turned to look at Rick, who was already staring at her.

It wasn't silent. It wasn't like Woodbury or Terminus.

Carol walked up to him as he grabbed Judith from Carl's arms, "Even though you were wrong, you were still right."

Everyone gathered by the gate, but Rick stayed by the car. Vivian handed Liam off to Carl before walking up to the sheriff,

Judith giggled and reached out for her. Vivian grinned as Rick handed the baby over

"Should we go?" Vivian asked, brushing the baby's hair off her forehead before looking up at Rick, "Ready?"

He stared down at two girls for a moment before nodding, "Yeah... yeah."

The gates opened as Aaron helped Eric limp to the entrance. The others kept their weapons at the ready in case anything happened.

The trashcan in the grass next to them tipped over and the group aimed their guns. An opossum waddled out of the can and Daryl quickly shot it with his crossbow.

"We brought dinner." Daryl stated towards the Alexandrians at the gate, picking up the dead rodent.

"It's okay." Aaron told the men before motioning to the group, "Come on in, guys."

The eighteen of them walked through the gates before they closed behind them. This was it, there was no turning back now.

Carl glanced back towards a burnt down house on the outskirts of the gates and Vivian stopped next to him, following his gaze and seeing nothing. She handed the baby off to her brother before grabbing Liam's hand.

"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." The curly haired man informed them, "Stay, you hand them over."

"We don't know if we want to stay." Rick declared,

"It's fine, Nicholas." Aaron insisted,

"If we were gonna use them, we would have started already." Rick added,

"Let them talk to Deanna first." Aaron stated,

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham spoke up,

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place." He answered, "Rick, why don't you start?"

Rick was staring at something behind them and called out Sasha's name. The woman turned to see a walker approaching the gates, and she was quick to aim her gun and shoot it,

"It's a good thing we're here." Rick commented as the second fence closed, blocking their view of the street,

Rick was the first to go talk to Deanna, and everyone waited outside the house. Vivian kept a hold of Liam as she looked around the area.

Alexandria was a neighbourhood. Large houses filled the streets, houses that Vivian used to wish she could live in when she was younger.

The streets were clean, the grass was green and cut neatly. It was like the apocalypse didn't even touch this place.

She wondered how strong these people were... was it like Woodbury, where most of the community didn't know how to protect themselves? Or did they all know how to fight?

Rick was gone for a while, around thirty minutes maybe. But once he stepped out with an older woman, he gave everyone a nod to let them know that they were gonna stay.

A woman came out with a bin and they were directed to put their weapons on it, They're still your guns. You can check them out whenever you go beyond the wall." The woman, Deanna, told them, "But inside here, we store them for safety."

Marcie's eyes furrowed as she watched Carol awkwardly take her gun off, and give the woman a smile.

It was very uncharacteristic of the older woman.

"Should have brought another bin." The other woman joked as she wheeled them away,

One by one, they group was brought in to be interviewed by Deanna. Vivian was next, bringing Liam inside with her.

She sat in an arm chair that sat next to a window and looked around. It was like the house was from one of those interior design magazines that Vivian would read when she was waiting to get a hair cut at the salon.

Vivian felt bad sitting in this clean room, while she was covered in dirt and blood.

Liam wandered around, finding things to play with. Vivian kept an eye on him, but didn't stop him from waving the candle stick around,

"Hi." Deanna smiled at her, "You mind if I film this?"

Vivian stared at the camera that sat behind the couch, "Sure." She mumbled before playing with the ends of her ponytail,

"What's your name?"

"Vivian. That's Liam." She nodded towards the toddler who now waddled over to Vivian and climbed into her lap,

"How long have you been apart of your group?" Deanna asked her as she sat on the couch,

"Since the start. Some of us met on a highway and we formed a camp in this quarry. Things happened, we kept moving. Lost people and gained people along the way." Vivian answered,

"You don't have the same accent as Rick. Where are you from?"

"Chicago."

"Thought I recognised that accent." Deanna replied, "How did you get to Georgia?"

"I was visiting a childhood friend of mine." Vivian brushed Liam's hair away from his face, "I wanted to get home, but the airports were closed by then."

"Where are they now?"

"She's, uh..." Vivian squeezed Liam closer to her, "She's dead."

Deanna's soft gaze turned to the toddler, "How old is he?"

"Three, maybe? Almost four? He was almost two at the start, and we've lost track of the days a long time ago." Vivian explained,

"He's very docile for a toddler."

"He has to be. When on the road, he couldn't be loud. It was too dangerous." The woman replied, "Makes me feel bad for him."

"Well, he won't have to be quiet behind these walls. He can grow up a normal child, school and everything." Deanna told her,

Tears filled her eyes, "Really?" Vivian could give Liam the life he deserves, the life that Jillian would want him to have.

The older woman nodded, "Really." She leaned back on the couch, "What did you do before all this?"

Vivian wiped at the tears, "Nothing, really. Bounced around from job to job, trying to keep my family afloat."

"What's your role within this group?" Deanna asked her,

"I used to go out on supply runs before Liam. After his mom died, I didn't want to leave him parentless so I stopped."

"So Liam isn't your biologically." Deanna assumed.

Vivian shook her head, "No, he's my godson. My friend... she didn't make it out of the quarry. So... now he's my responsibility."

Deanna nodded in understanding, "Tell me about your family."

"It was just me and my siblings. My dad was an alcoholic, couldn't keep a job. My mom would only come back to pop out another kids before disappearing again." Vivian explained, "I did what I could to keep everyone together."

"Do you feel like you do the same for this group?" She asked her,

Vivian thought back to when they were in Georgia, how much she hated when the group kept separating, getting smaller and smaller, "Yeah... I guess so, sometimes."

She felt like this was more like a therapy session than an interrogation.

After Deanna had wrapped up the discussion, she had Aaron show her the houses they left aside for their group.

They were massive, bigger than Vivian could imagine. Though she wasn't sure how they would fit eighteen people in two houses.

Vivian stared at the grass that Liam would be allowed to play in without worry. He could even play in the road without fear of cars coming by.

She could imagine the memories she could make here for him.

Vivian opened the door and let Liam run inside. He giggled, running towards the couch and jumping on it.

Carl came down the stairs, a large smiled on his face, "If you think this is great, you should see the water pressure."

She could hear the water running in the downstairs bathroom as Vivian grabbed Liam and went up the stairs. She let him claim a room and wondered if she could get an extra bed for Liam.

"I don't mind sharing a room with Liam and Judy." Carl told her from the doorway, "Are you and dad sharing a room?"

Vivian glanced over at the teenager, "Why would I be sharing a room with Rick?"

Carl shrugged, "I dunno. Aren't you guys together?"

"I..." Vivian thought about it for a moment. Her and Rick had their moments, sharing looks and stealing kisses, but they never had a discussion about what it meant, "I don't know. Would it bother you if we were?"

"I want him happy. And I think you make him happy." He answered before coming and wrapping his arms around her, "You make me happy, too, Viv."

Vivian took his hat off and kissed the top of his head, "You make me happy, too, Carl."

Liam squeezed between their legs, "I want a hug, too."

Vivian separated from the teenager and lifted Liam up, "Oh, you get lots of hugs, kid." She squeezed him and the toddler giggled, "You really wanna share a room with this kid?" Vivian asked Carl, "Trust me, you're gonna want your own room. I can share with Liam and Judy."

"Why don't they just get their own room?" Carl suggested,

"We'll see." Vivian set the toddler down and Carl took him and Judith to explore the other house.

While the kids were occupied, Vivian took the advantage and grabbed a shower.

The warm water felt heavenly on her skin. Vivian rubbed her skin raw and washed her hair multiple times to make sure all the built up oil was gone.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, soaking up the warm water as it hit her skin. Vivian heard the door to the bathroom open, before a cool breeze hit her from behind.

A pair of tanned arms wrapped around her waist, and Vivian leaned her head back against the man's shoulder.

She opened her eyes as Rick kissed the side of her neck and a smile grew on her lips as she realised he shaved his beard.

"Haven't seen this face in a while." She joked, placing her hand gently on his cheek.

"Thought I could do with a little change." He replied, placing an open mouth kiss to the other side of her neck and bit down gently on her skin,

"I like it." Vivian stated, her hand moving to grip the back of his head.

Rick's hand travelled down her stomach and to the spot in between her legs. She pressed herself back against his hardening member and Rick turned her to the side, pushing her front up against the shower wall.

Vivian began to shake as Rick pushed himself into her core, but not out of pleasure. She closed her eyes, her forehead resting against the wall, and as much as she wanted to enjoy that moment, she couldn't.

The water had gone cold, and she was transported back into that room. Being slammed onto the metal wall, her clothes cut from her body.

The Governor, pressing himself into her, cutting up her back. Taking away her dignity.

"Stop." Vivian begged, pushing herself away from the wall, "Stop, Rick, please."

He backed away, his hands up, "Viv, what-"

She quickly exited the shower, grabbing the towel and rushing into the hallway while trying not to trip over his jeans that laid on the floor. Rick turned off the tap, pulling on his jeans and followed after her, "Vivian, stop!"

The brunette paused, water dripping onto the hard wood. She was still shaking and wasn't sure what to tell him,

"What's going on?" He approached her slowly, like she was a wild animal ready to strike, "You can talk to me."

She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock on the door interrupted her.

"You should get that." Vivian mumbled before going into the nearest bedroom.

She turned to the dresser that had a large mirror above it.

Her cheekbones were prominent, and her eyes were dull. She had more of a tan on her face than she used to have back in Chicago, thanks to the endless exposure to the sun. Her hair was long and more wavy, probably more healthy due to the lack of styling tools and products she used to apply to it.

"He's dead. He can't hurt anyone anymore." Vivian whispered to her reflection.

Vivian quickly changed back into clothes that were in the dresser. A pair of skinny jeans and a long sleeved shirt before spotting a sweatshirt in the closet.

She just wanted to get rid of the feeling of the Governor touching her.

Vivian slowly walked downstairs, hearing Rick speaking to someone. When she got to the bottom of the steps, she paused.

Rick stood in the doorway, a laundry basket of various items in his hands. On the porch stood a blonde woman, who Vivian noticed was checking out the shirtless man in front of her.

"Oh, hi, I'm Jessie." The woman smiled at her,

"Vivian." She introduced herself before glancing at Rick, "I'm, uh, gonna go look for the boys."

Rick gave her a nod and watched the brunette go, sneaking past Jessie and down the front steps, away from the house.