.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓. The Grimes girl sat up to find herself alone in the tent. She made it outside swiftly to check the cars parked outside hoping to see the car her father and Glenn had taken to find Hershel. But it wasn't there. They weren't. She felt a small flicker of worry.

She walked to the house to check on Beth and find Carl. Her bare feet met the grass as she walked, bringing a smile to her face. The feeling of grass against her feet, the feeling of freedom and joy. She felt at home.
She looked up and saw T-dog approaching her.

"Good morning," T-dog greeted the girl.

"Good morning, Theodore." Stella smiled.

On her way to the big house Stella spotted Levi, standing with a shovel in his hands. He wore a blue t-shirt, stained with dirt and two dark round circles under his armpits. Stella couldn't blame him. The sun was beating down on them.

"Hello, garden boy." Stella smiled, leaning against the house.

The boy looked up and met her gaze as a smile grew on his lips revealing two dimples. "Hi." He panted as he wiped sweat from his forehead, leaving dirt on his face from the muddy gloves he was wearing.

"What are you doing." Stella laughed at the sight.

"I'm doing my part and helping Patricia. See I thought since Hershel is MIA, I am going to help with the gardening." The boy smiled, putting the shovel down, and picked up a garden hose. "I don't see you doing anything"

"Well, I am doing my part." Stella stubbornly placed her hands on her hips. "I am actually the entertainer."

Levi scoffed. "That's weird because I thought that the entertainer had to be funny." He said as he began to water the plants with the green garden hose. "And you're not funny."

"Phff, I'm not a mirror." Stella grinned.

"Yeah, thank God. If you were I would be crying at the sight of my face every day."

Stella stared at the brunette with her lips parted in shock. "Oh, you didn't."
"I think I did." Levi wore a sly smirk. 

The blonde girl picked up some dirt from the ground and threw it at the boy.

"Oh, you didn't!"

"I think I did." Stella smiled proudly.

Suddenly she was hit with cold water from the hose in Levi's hand, soaking every inch of her. She screamed and tried to protect herself with her hands. She hurried to Levi and pulled the hose out of his hands and began to spray the boy. He yelped as the cold water hit his face. His hands formed a shield and he began trying to get hold of the hose. But Stella wasn't going down without a fight so she did. She fought back, pulling the hose close as Levi tried to yank it out of her hands which only led to both of them being soaked. They shouted and laughed loudly. Before the water suddenly turned off.

The two teens looked up instantly to see Lori standing by the hose bib with her arms crossed giving the two the mom stare.

"What in God's name are you doing?!"

The two soaked teens glanced at each other before bursting into laughter.

"This is not funny," Lori shouted. "We are guests here. Hershel and the others are working hard at this farm every day. We are blessed to have water. But we only have a limited supply of water and you two are just throwing it away by playing water fights. I mean, Carl is more mature than the two of you."

Stella stared at Carl who had been standing a bit away from them. "Yeah, well Carl is boring."

"Carl is not boring!" The young boy said with a pout on his lips.

"Oh yeah? Prove it." Stella laughed picking up the hose again and aimed it at Carl. He screamed as he was hit by the icy water.

"Hey! Hey!" Lori shouted repeatedly to gain their attention.
Once Carl didn't have any dry spots on his body, Stella turned the hose off. Carl's hat had fallen off in the process and now laid on the muddy ground.

"Stop this right now," Lori said. "Levi, I thought you were better than this."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Stella questioned.

"That you two," Lori said referring to Carl and Stella. "Are two little shits." Lori joked and picked up mud from the ground and threw it at Stella. It smashed onto her flannel, leaving a stain.

Stella gasped. "Oh, you're dead!" She threw a handful of mud at her mother's neck, mud splattered into her face.

Another ball of mud was thrown at Stella, this time hitting her in her hair.
She picked up more mud and threw it at Levi's face. "What the hell was that for?!" He exclaimed.

"You looked left out." Stella shrugged.

"Oh, you piece of.."

Stella ran, Levi was right behind her with the ball of mud in his hands. As she took a sharp turn to the right she saw the ball fly past her, missing her face with an inch. Carl threw mud at her mother who had been trying to hide behind him. "What are you doing?! You can't throw at me, I'm a pregnant lady!" She laughed.

Then, all hell broke loose. Mud was flying everywhere. Everyone was covered in mud. Mostly Levi and Carl.

Suddenly, the sound of a car approaching was heard causing them all to stop instantly.
They're back.

Stella tried to get some of the mud off her as she rushed over to her father. "Dad!"

"Woah! What happened to you." He laughed at the sight of his wife and kids covered in mud.

"Mom started it." Carl quickly stated.

"And she's supposed to be the responsible one." Rick smiled.

Hershel and Glenn emerged from the car. Maggie ran straight past her father and into Glenn's arms.

"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery," Hershel said as he passed her.

"Who the hell is that?" Levi said pointing to the car.

Stella followed the direction of his finger and saw a young man sitting unconscious in the back seat with a red blindfold on his eyes.

"It's Randall."

𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐋. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎'𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐍, 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊. No one knew what to do with him. He was just a boy. His group had left him for dead. Stella's father and Shane had decided to drive away and leave him far away from the farm. Stella felt bad for him. He was all alone.

Stella Grimes stood in the kitchen, helping Ellie and Lori to make lunch for Beth, who had recently woken up. It had taken Stella a long shower and bath to get all of the mud off. Once they were done, Ellie grabbed the tray of food.

"Ellie, why don't you go take a nap? We'll bring Beth the food." Lori smiled. Ellie had stayed by Beth's bed the whole night, not getting any sleep. She was worried, Stella could tell that she was.

Ellie nodded and handed Stella the tray with a small smile on her face before walking to her room.

"Knock, knock," Lori said as she and Stella stepped into Beth's bedroom. The girl laid on her bed with her back facing the door.

Stella placed the tray on her nightstand, giving Beth a smile as she sat up. She looked pale. Her eyes wore big bags under them and her face wore a numb expression

"Hi, how are you feeling," Stella asked. Beth didn't answer, she only shook her head without making eye contact. "Hey, you know what? You eat up, we'll get you up and out of here and take a walk."

"That sounds like a good idea." Lori filled in. "It'll be good to be outside."

Beth didn't answer this either. She only stared at the floor as she asked "You're pregnant?" Her eyes met Lori's. "How could you do that?"

"I don't really have a choice." Lori chuckled dryly as she felt extremely uncomfortable with the conversation.

"You think it'll make a difference?" Beth asked shortly.

"Of course it will. You eat something." Lori smiled as she and Stella wandered out of the room.

On their way through the hall, Stella peaked into Ellie's room. The girl slept peacefully as muffled snores escaped her mouth. Stella couldn't help but smile.

A while later, Lori had gone into Beth's room to get the tray of food they had left earlier. Stella stood in the kitchen, cleaning up when Lori came downstairs with the tray.

"How is she?" Stella asked as she began to pick the dishes off the tray.

"Not good. She's completely broken. I don't know what to tell her."

Stella froze staring at the lonely fork in the plate. "Mom?"

"Yeah?" Lori asked.

"Beth?" Stella said as she and her mother hurried through the door. The Greene girl laid with her face facing the wall. Lori began to search the nightstand.

"Give it to us, sweetheart," Lori said with a soft voice. "You don't wanna do this."

The girl laid completely still.

"Beth, please give it to us," Stella spoke.
The blond Greene girl lifted the sheets and handed Lori the knife.
Stella was unsure what to say. Instead, she was by Beth's side as Lori rushed to get Maggie.

"Beth, I can't imagine what you're going through. It's..." Stella struggled. She was never really good at comforting people. "Your family needs you. Think about Maggie. About Ellie, she stayed by your side the whole night, making sure you were okay. Think about your Dad, Patricia, and Jimmy. You can't leave them behind. You have to be strong for them."

"Why would you say this? You don't even know me?"

"Because, I care about you. You and your family saved my brother's life." Stella said.

"It won't matter in the end," Beth muttered.

Stella sat on around the kitchen table. Andrea and Lori stood leaned against the counter as the three listened to the loud argument between Maggie and Beth coming from Beth's room.

"Where's Hershel?" Andrea asked.

"Maggie doesn't want him to find out yet." Chewing on an apple slice. "It's a family affair. We'll let them work it out."

"That's working it out?" Andrea glanced at Lori who stood opposite to her.

"When Beth stops fighting, that's when it's time to worry," Lori said hopping down from the counter.

"This could have been handled better," Andrea muttered.
Stella frowned. "What?"

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away," Andrea said shortly. The two Grimes girls eyes widened as they stared at the blonde before them.

"Excuse me?" Lori exclaimed.

"You were wrong." Andrea shrugged. "Like Dale taking my gun. That wasn't your decision. She has to choose to live on her own. She has to find her own find her own reasons."

"Want me to tie a noose for her?" Lori said placing Beth's food in the fridge.

"If she's serious, she'll figure out a way," Andrea said.

"Doesn't mean I can't stop her or let her know that I care," Lori said staring at the woman like she was crazy. Which she was. Stella couldn't understand that these words were coming out of Andrea's mouth.

"That's nothing to do with it, Lori." Andrea shook her head.

"If Dale didn't stop you in the CDC, you would have stayed and died. If we didn't take the knife from Beth, God knows what would have happened. " Stella spoke up.

But Andrea just rolled her eyes and ignored her comment. "The girl doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"She needs a loaded gun right?" Lori said. "You'll understand if I don't send you in there."

"I came through it," Andrea said looking genuinely offended.

"And became such a productive member of the group," Lori said. Stella's hand flew to her mouth as she fought back a laughter.

"I contribute. I help keep this place safe." Andrea exclaimed.

"Like when you shot Daryl?" Stella said. Andrea shot her a warning look.

"The men can handle this on their own. They don't need your help." Lori looked up from the plates she had been stacking.

"I'm sorry. What would you have me do?" Andrea said.

"Oh, there's plenty of work to go around."

"Are you serious?" Andrea's eyes were shooting daggers. "Everything falls apart, you're in my face I've skipping laundry?!"

"Puts a burden on the rest of us, on me and Carol, Patricia, my daughter, Ellie and Maggie. Cooking and cleaning and caring for Beth. And you... you don't care about anyone but yourself. You sit on that RV, working on your tan with a shotgun in your lap."

Stella wanted to laugh again just by the look on Andrea's face.

"No, I am on watch against walkers. That's what matters, not fresh mint leaves in the lemonade." Andrea raised her voice.

"And we are providing stability. We are trying to create a life worth living."

"Are you kidding me?" Andrea growled.

"Look, I went out after Rick. I took down two walkers..."

"After crashing Maggie's car." Andrea cut her off. "Ever apologize for that?"

"Crashing- you're insane." Stella's mother sighed.

"No, you are," Andrea said, tilting her head to the side slightly. "And you're the one that's self-centered., the way you take it all for granted."

"My husband is out there for the hundredth time. My son was shot! Don't you dare tell me that I take this for granted!" Lori snapped.

"You don't get it, do you?!" Andrea shouted in Lori's face. "Your husband came back from the dead, your son, too. Your daughter is alive! And now you've got a baby in the way. The rest of us have piled up our losses. Me Carol, Beth but you just keep on keeping on. "

"We have all suffered,  Andrea," Stella said.

"Playing house, acting like the queen bee, laying down rules for everybody but yourself." Anger flared across Andrea's face as she spoke. "You know what? Go ahead. Go in there and tell that little girl that everything's gonna be okay, just like it is for you. She'll get a husband, a son, a baby, a boyfriend!"

Stella gaped at the comment. She wanted to get up and drag Andrea by her hair.

"She just has to look on the bright side," Andrea said.

Stella stood up hastily causing her chair to fall back and hit the floor with a bang. "Andrea, get the fuck out, and don't ever talk to my mother like that again."

The Grimes duo watched as the woman walked out of the kitchen, rolling her eyes.
"Bitch." Stella and Lori muttered.

𝐄 𝐋 𝐋 𝐈 𝐄

𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇'𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐃. She woke up after her nap to find out that her sister had tried to commit suicide. She held her tears back as she looked at her sister. Not long ago, she was a happy, colorful girl who always wore a smile. Now, she wore dark circles under her glossy eyes, and her face was clouded with sadness and resignation.

"Mom would be ashamed to learn she raised such a coward," Maggie said. "What about Dad?"

"He's clueless. He had us waiting for a cure." Beth said.

"He knows he was wrong," Maggie said.

"When has Dad ever admitted he was wrong? He's just telling Rick's group what they want to hear."

"What about Jimmy, Bethy?" Ellie said as she patted her leg.

"We went out for three months and now I'm married to him?"

"And me?" Maggie said, her eyes brimming with tears. "And Ellie? You could do that to us? I can't take another funeral."

"You can't avoid it." Beth's voice was so fragile it broke Ellie's heart. "What are we waiting for? We should all do it. The three of us."

"What?" The tears in Ellie's eyes were threatening to fall.

"At the same time. Help each other." Beth spoke about it like she was suggesting them to do horseback riding.

"No." Maggie's voice was muffled by tears.

"It's hard to do it. No one wants so bu..."

Ellie grabbed the blonde's hands and looked into her eyes, trying to calm her down. Beth's hands were cold and shaking. "Bethy, please stop talking like that."

"It's our choice and then it would be over." Beth raised her voice. "Or we'll be forced to do it when the farm and this house is overrun. No one can protect us."

"That's not true," Maggie said.

"Who, Glenn?" Beth said before her voice calmed down. "I heard what happened. Rick will save his family, the others, too. We're alone."

"That's not true. Please, Beth." Ellie sobbed.

"I don't want to be gutted. I wanna go..."

Ellie's heart broke into a million pieces.

"I wanna go in this bed, tonight, with you two beside me." Beth continued. "Please."

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟐𝟖𝟔𝟒 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝟑.𝟐𝟑 𝐏𝐌
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍

I'm sorry it has taken me forever to update but the chapter is finally here! I don't really like this chapter bc it's not very eventful but dw it'll happen a lot of stuff in the upcoming chapters!!

We're getting clorser to s3 and I'm dreading to write Loris death...