"I HEARD THAT YOU'RE VERY GOOD AT FINDING PEOPLE."

Marcie shrugged, avoiding looking at Deanna and instead stared at the books on the wall, "Can't seem to keep them alive, though."

It was true. Her track record on finding people was amazing. 

But they never seemed to last. They always die.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. That's what these walls are for." She told the younger woman,

This community was built on pure luck. They've never had any outside dangers beside the dead. They didn't know how to survive in this world.

Rick was right. They're lucky they showed up.

Why were they so lucky? They all must've been saints in a previous life. Why weren't her parents protected in a place like this? 

She headed towards the houses that Deanna gave them to stay in. Marcie paused when she saw Daryl sitting on the porch steps, gutting the opossum for everyone to see,

"Seriously?" Marcie asked him as she stepped over the dead rodent,

"Where else am I s'posse ta do it?" Daryl grumbled, 

"In the grass, maybe?" She glanced up to see Rick standing on the porch with Judith in his arms.

He no longer had his bushy beard and his hair had been cut. He looked like the man she saved by in King County.

"Woah." 

"Yeah, I know." Rick sighed before handing Judith off to Glenn, who was inside with a few of the others, "C'mon, let's check the walls."

Daryl joined the duo as they checked the back yard, the walls that stood way over them. They seemed secure, but Marcie wasn't quite ready to trust this place up.

They walked between the houses to where Carol was exiting the second house, "They're right next to each other, but-"

"They took our weapons and now they're splitting us up." Rick finished for her,

"Yeah."

"We'll all be staying in the same house tonight." Rick declared.

That night, everyone had gathered in the living room, claiming their own spaces. The community provided them with a crib for Judith, which they set by the window where Daryl was perched on.

Marcie sat at the dining room table, Carl was across from her reading a comic he found in the other house. She found a deck of cards in one of the drawers and began shuffling them, trying to entice someone to play a game with her.

"How long was I in there for?" Michonne asked, entering the lounge with a toothbrush in her hand,

Marcie glanced up at the clock that hung above the mantle, "20 minutes." She answered with a smile,

It was nice knowing the time.

"God, I could not stop brushing." Michonne turned to Rick and paused at his new appearance, "Huh. I've never... I've never seen your face like that."

"That's what I felt before and after." Rick replied,

"Look..." Michonne started to speak to him softly so not everyone could hear, "I get why we're playing it safe. We should. I just... I have a good feeling about this place."

"Well, I hope you're right."

"Yeah, me, too."

There was a knock on the front door and Rick went to open it, revealing Deanna, who had begun speaking but stopped when she saw Rick's face, "Wow."

Rick groaned a little and Marcie tried to conceal her smile at his reaction

"I didn't know what was under there." She commented, "Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all settling." Deanna stepped in and glanced around at all of them scattered in the lounge, "Oh, my. Staying together. Smart."

"No one said we couldn't." Rick replied,

"You said you're a family. That's what you said." The older woman smiled up at him, "Absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds and nothing in common can become that. Don't you think?"

"Everybody said you gave them jobs." Rick stated, changing the subject.

Marcie sat up in her seat, wanting to hear what Deanna had to say. She wasn't given a job yet, and wanted to know if she was gonna get one,

Deanna nodded, "Mm-hmm. Yeah. Part of this place. Looks like the communists won after all." She joked, but no one laughed,

"Well, you didn't give me one." Rick stated,

Marcie raised her hand, "Or me."

"I have." Deanna disagreed, staring at Rick, "I just haven't told you yet. Same with Michonne. I'm closing in on something for Sasha and Marcie. And I'm just trying to figure Mr. Dixon out, but I will." She gave Rick one last smile, "You look good." She said before leaving.

The next morning, everyone set out to explore the community. Vivian went off with the kids, Liam hanging onto Judith's stroller as Carl pushing it down the street.

Marcie went to stand on the top of the steps, waiting for Daryl who had plopped himself down in the corner,

He was the one who wanted to come, but now he didn't want to make an effort. Just sit on the porch and hide away.

"They said explore. Let's explore." Rick stated, coming to a stop next to Marcie,

"Nah, I'll stay." Daryl replied, drawing his knees to his chest.

"All right." Rick sighed, glancing around the street, "Lori and me, we used to drive through neighborhoods like this. Thinking, 'One day...'."

"Well, here we are." The hunter mumbled,

Rick nodded before placing a hand on Marcie's back, leading her down the steps, "We'll be back." They made it to the sidewalk before the brunette glanced back towards the man she loved, "Just give him time." Rick told her,

"I thought this place would help him." She sighed, 

"It will."

Marcie followed Rick down the street until he came to a stop, looking around for his kids and seeing no one but a blonde further down the road,

"Rick-" Marcie couldn't finish her sentence as Rick took off.

She ran after him, wincing as he ran into a metal sculpture that sat in someone's driveway. A blonde woman popped out, addressing Rick by his name, 

"You okay?"

"Did Carl and Judith walk by?" Rick asked her, trying not to panic, "We were out and they were ahead of me."

"It's okay. I think I know where they are." The woman turned to look at Marcie, "Hi, I'm Jessie."

Marcie glanced between the two in front of her, "Marcie." She mumbled in return.

She followed the two down the street, watching the two as Jessie asked Rick how they were settling in.

Jessie led them around the corner and they stopped. She pointed at a house and on the porch was Liam, Judith, and Carl talking to an older couple.

But Vivian wasn't with them.

"That's Natalie and Bob Miller. They had five kids and 12 grandkids." Jessie explained, "It's been a long time since anyone around here has seen a baby. They're both gonna have to put up with some pinched cheeks."

Carl spotted them and gave them a small wave to assure them they were alright. Marcie left Rick behind with Jessie while she approached the porch,

"Your dad was worried." Marcie commented as Carl walked down the steps, Liam following after him,

"Sorry, they really wanted to see Judith and Liam." Carl explained as he put his sister back in the stroller.

"Where did Vivian go?" Marcie asked, holding Liam's hand as they walked back towards Rick and Jessie,

"I dunno. She asked me to watch Liam before taking off." He answered,

"Taking off?"

"Yeah, she was sprinting down the street. I'm not sure what she was chasing." Carl told her as they reached Rick.

Carl went to go follow Jessie back to her house so she could introduce him to her son and the other kids Carl's age while Marcie brought the kids back to the house.

The younger Grimes followed Ron upstairs, the kid leading him to his bedroom, "We're almost always here after school, so you can come by any time."

"You go to school?" Carl asked, his eyes widening,

Ron shrugged, "It's in a garage. Little kids go in the morning and then it's us in the afternoon. Probably you, too, right?"

"Probably."

Ron knocked on the door to get everyone's attention. Two girls sat on the bed, one by the headboard reading a comic book and the other laying on her stomach near the foot of the bed, reading a magazine. Then there was another boy his age playing a video game,

"Guys, this is Carl. Carl, this is Mikey, Debbie and Enid." Ron introduced.

Mikey put his controller down and stood, "Hey."

Debbie put down her magazine and smiled up at the Grimes boy, "Hi!"

Carl stared at her for a moment, her eyes a familiar brown, but he couldn't place them.

"Hi." His attention turned to the brunette girl, who didn't even look up from her comic book,

"Enid's from outside, too. She just came eight months ago." Ron explained, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder,

"Oh, um..." Carl reached into his back pocket and pulled out the comic book, "is this yours?" He held it out towards Mikey,

"Sorry." Ron smirked, "We didn't know you guys got that house."

"We mostly just hang out there and listen to music." Mikey explained,

"That's Enid's." Debbie told him as she moved into a sitting position, and the brunette girl snatched the book away and set it down next to her,

There was a small pause, tension filling the room before Ron spoke, "Want to play some video games? Or Mikey's house has a pool table, but his dad's kind of strict about it."

"It's okay. He's at work." Mikey stated,

Carl glanced towards the carpet, "Um..."

"Sorry, I guess we come on kind of strong. We can just hang out." Ron suggested,

"You don't even have to talk if you don't wanna." Debbie gave him a small smile,

"Yeah, Debbie can talk for the both of you." Mikey joked and the redhead smacked his arm, her cheeks turning red,

"It's okay, took Enid three weeks to say something." Ron added.

The girl stared at Carl for a moment, "Pull it together, sport."

"Enid, be nice." Debbie hissed at her,

"Let's, um... let's play some video games." Carl walked further into the room towards the tv,

"Cool, yeah."

Debbie watched the boy for a moment, "Have you been out there this whole time?"

Carl nodded, "Pretty much, yeah. What about you?"

"Only for a few weeks. I was travelling with my brothers when the army redirected us here. Stayed ever since." She scooted towards the edge of the bed, "So, like, you know how to kill those things, right?" The boy nodded again and Debbie's smile grew, "That's so cool."

After a few hours, Ron's mom came upstairs to tell the kids it was time for Ron and Sam to eat dinner. Enid and Mikey walked with each other towards their homes and Debbie went to walk in the opposite direction when she noticed Carl standing on the sidewalk,

"Need help getting back?" The redhead asked him,

He stared at her for a moment, "All the houses look the same."

She gave him a small smile, "C'mon, I'll show you."