THE NEXT MORNING, MARCIE WOKE UP REFRESHED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS.

She had a hot shower, cleaning her hair and scrubbing her skin. Her stomach was full and she had an entire bottle of water without thinking of rationing.

And despite being in a place she wasn't very familiar with, she didn't sleep with one eye open.

She glanced out the window and her eyebrows rose. Dozens of people were walking the streets, smiles on their faces.

It's almost like the world hadn't ended.

Marcie and Andrea got dressed in the fresh clothing that was left in their room before a woman came to their door, offering to take them on a tour before going to the Governor's (that's what the community called their leader) office.

"It's real." Andrea whispered as they walked down the street, 

"You three have been out there for a long time. While you were, the Governor was doing this." The woman, Robin, told them,

Everyone was so clean, so... healthy looking. As if they weren't fighting to survive, never starved or wondered if their water was clean enough to drink.

Didn't have to kill or be killed.

"How many people do you have here?"

"73." Robin answered, "Eileen's about to pop, so her kid will make it 74. Still a work in progress, but Rome wasn't built in a day."

"That's a bold comparison." Andrea commented,

"I think we've earned it. Walls haven't been breached in well over a month, we haven't suffered a casualty in the inside since early winter." She informed them,

"How's that possible?" Marcie questioned, seeing kids walking their dogs and women tending to a garden,

"Our Governor's set a strict curfew." Robin replied, "Nobody out after dark. Noise and light kept to the bare minimum, armed guards on the fence and controlling the perimeter to keep the biters away."

Marcie paused for a moment. She saw an older couple holding hands, rounding a corner and went out of sight.

She didn't get a good look at them, but the man looked like her father. But she shook her head, it was unlikely that they made it to Woodbury during the initial outbreak.

"I saw what your patrols do on the way in last night. They had a dead one strung up like an ornament." Andrea commented, drawing Marcie's attention back to the conversation,

"You okay?" Michonne asked her,

She nodded and gave her a small smile before coming to a stop beside Robin and Andrea,

"I won't make excuses, those men put their lives at risk every day to protect this town. We've lost more than a few friends out there. Everybody copes in their own way." Robin continued walking, "But I'll raise it with the Governor."

Robin brought them to the Governor's house, where he had prepared breakfast for them. There they met Milton, the Governor's 'brain' so to speak. He was the one who stayed in the background, helping the community with his inventions and experiments.

"Eight months? Hard to believe you ladies lasted so long out there." The Governor commented as he put eggs on their plates,

"Because we're women?" Andrea shot at him and Marcie smirked,

"Because you're alone." He reasoned,

The blonde shrugged, "We had each other."

Marcie remembered being alone at the very beginning of the outbreak. Then she found Rick, and then Glenn and their group. As much as she disliked Andrea at first, she couldn't imagine being out there for eight months alone.

She was grateful for Michonne and Andrea.

"Three against the world. It's long odds." 

"We managed." Marcie stated, staring down at the eggs on her plate.

She wanted to scarf them down, that's what she would do back at the farm. But here, they had manners. They had metal forks and porcelain plates. She had to be lady-like.

"Oh, we're impressed."

"Very." Milton added.

"Survival in the wild is tough sledding. Wake up every morning on the ground, wondering if today's the day. Will it be quick and final or slow and... well without end? Will someone have the good sense to kill my brain, or will I come back as one of them?" The Governor rambled before sitting down himself,

"Do you think they remember anything, the person they once were?" Milton asked,

So much for casual conversation. It was too early for existential questions.

"I don't think about it." Andrea answered,

"Milton believes there might be a trace of the people they were, still trapped inside." The Governor explained,

"Like an echo. Surely, it must have crossed your mind." Milton added, handing Andrea a cup of tea,

"One time, yeah. Right before it tried to bite me." Andrea commented, taking a sip of her drink,

Marcie shrugged, "It's nice to think about, in a way. That the person isn't truly gone." She began to think about Lexi, "But, even if that's the case, wouldn't it be more humane to put them down? Why let them continue to wander the earth, looking for something to devour, trapped inside their own body?"

Milton stared at her, nodding, "So you kill it? I say 'it' only because no one here lies to refer to them as 'him' or 'her'." He turned to Michonne, and set a cup down near her, "The two you had in chains, who were they? The way you controlled them, used them to your benefit. You did know them, didn't you?"

It was awkwardly silent. Andrea and Marcie knew that whoever those walkers were, Michonne was close to them before they turned. But they never asked her about it. They didn't want to open that door.

Michonne wasn't so open about her past. But they knew that once they were to gain Michonne's full trust, she'll tell them.

"Let them eat." The Governor stated,

"My apologies." Milton moved his stare to his plate,

"So what you have here, you expect it to hold? What if a herd comes through?" Andrea questioned, changing the subject.

"It'll hold." The Governor answered,

Marcie glanced across the table to see Michonne still staring at Milton, who was growing uncomfortable under her gaze.

"What's your secret?"

"Really big walls." The leader answered

Andrea let out a small laugh, "That soldier had walls too and we all know how that turned out so..."

He shared a glance with Milton, "I guess we do. The real secret is what goes on within these walls. It's about getting back to who we were, who we really are. They're just waiting to be saved. And people here have homes, medical care, kids go to school, adults have jobs to do. There's a sense of purpose, we're a community."

"With a lot of guns and ammunition." Milton added,

"Never hurts."

"And really big walls." Andrea added.

"And men willing to risk everything to defend them. Compromise our safety, destroy our community, I'll die before I let that happen." The Governor continued,

There was another awkward silence and Marcie continued slowly eating her eggs.

"Looks like you're sitting pretty at the end of the world."

Marcie glanced over at Andrea, and knew the look on her face. She was flirting. She did the same thing with Shane.

"Do I strike you as the kind of man who sits pretty?" He asked her, "You reap what you sow. We're the seed, now that winter has passed, it's time to harvest."

"Time to hope?"

The two didn't break eye contact and Marcie rolled her eyes, "We're going out there, we're taking back what's ours. Civilization. We will rise again. Only this time we won't be eating each other."

Andrea glanced over at her and Michonne before raising her cup of tea, "To civilization, then." She stated before taking a sip.

There was a knock on the door and he set down his cup, "Excuse me." He stood to answer the door,

One of the men, the guards, from last night was at the door and whispered something to the Governor before leaving,

"Sorry to cut breakfast short but this can't wait." The Governor smiled at them,

Michonne stood, "We want our weapons."

"Well, we can make these meals to go and your weapons will be waiting outside but you should take time to relax. Get your strength back. Have a look around. Who knows? You might like what you see." He gave a charming grin to Marcie and Andrea.

She didn't trust that smile one bit.

Minutes later, they were back out of the streets, exploring a bit more,

"I don't trust him." Michonne stated,

Marcie nodded, "Me neither."

"Why not?" Andrea looked between the two before looking over at Michonne, "Have you ever trusted anybody?"

"Yeah." Michonne spat out,

"Then, give this a day or two, that's all I'm asking!" Andrea turned back to continued walking, "Some time to get our shit together."

Marcie rolled her eyes. Or time for her to sleep with the Governor.

"My shit never stopped being together."

"Didn't look that way when Milton asked about your walkers. I'm surprised he didn't get a fork in his eye." Andrea replied,

"It was not of his damn business." Michonne stated,

"Guess it's not of mine either." Andrea stopped walking and turned to the swordsman, "Seven months together, all we've been through, I still feel like I hardly know you."

"Andrea." Marcie scolded,

"I'm sorry, it's the truth, I mean, come on, you know everything about me and Marcie! And I-"

"You know enough." Michonne interrupted,

"Those walkers were with us all winter long, protecting us, and you took them out without any hesitation, that had to-"

"It was easier than you think." Michonne's voice wavered before walking away.

She watched her walk away. It wasn't easy for her. Marcie knew that. 

But she wasn't the only one watching her. Marcie noticed the man from earlier, Shumpert, was watching their confrontation.

With a sigh, Marcie went after her friend. She found her near the front gates, sitting on a bench, just watching. She sat down next to her and stayed quiet for a few minutes,

"She was wrong about the way she went about it. But... she was right. We don't know a lot about you. But we still trust you with our lives. You don't have to tell us about those walkers, but maybe one day you'll open up to us." Marcie glanced over at her, "We care about you, Michonne. A lot."

Michonne looked over at her, "I'm not ready." She whispered,

She gave her a small smile, "And that's okay."

The gates opened and large military vehicles entered Woodbury. The entire community began to gather around, and the Governor spoke quietly to Merle and Milton.

"It all seems a little too good to be true." Marcie said quietly to her friend, "I don't think it can be trusted."

The Governor stood on the bed of the military Jeep to gather everyone's attention,

"We brought in four new people yesterday. One was a helicopter pilot with a National Guard outfit. Even though he's clinging to life, he told us about his convoy on the highway, his men." He paused and Marcie knew it was for dramatic effect, "I promised I'd bring them back here alive. But they didn't have our walls or our fences. Biters got there before we did." 

Marcie narrowed her eyes. The military let walkers overrun them? Even with all those weapons and large vehicles?

"Now, the men had trucks, the trucks had weapons, food, medicines, things we need. Now, we didn't know them, but we'll honor their sacrifice by not taking what we have here for granted. Won't be long before dark, so go on home. Be thankful for what you have. Watch out for each other."

Marcie brushed her eyes over the faces in the crowd. They all believed him. She could understand, he had the face, the personality.

The dark haired woman's heart stopped beating for a moment and she stood. Michonne stared up at her, eyebrows furrowed.

There was an older couple, standing in the middle of the crowd. The one Marcie saw earlier. They had turned around to leave the gathering, and Marcie caught a look at their faces.

"Mama? Papa?!" Marcie smiled,

She didn't want to blink. She was scared they would disappear.

They turned at the sound of her voice and her mother let out a sob, "Mi stellina!"

Marcie sprinted over, weaving through the people, before collapsing into her parents' arms, "I found you." She sobbed into her father's shoulder, "I found you."

Finally.

_________________________________________

this is where the traumatic shit starts hitting the fan everyone.