- T W E N T Y - T H R E E -

The Walking Dead
(season 1-11)

'I never thought I would
ever love someone because
they were incapable to love me
and here i found you.'

by @everm0res
———————————
- S A V E D -

The group had arrived at their designated spot for gun training. Maia sat in the back of one of the trucks next to Glenn and Izraella — of course she would sit next to Glenn, Izraella practically forced them to sit next to each other. After what Maia had told her she was determined to find out the truth.

The three had sat in silence as Shane drove the car to their spot that they were to call their "shooting range". The tension in the air was palpable, thick. Maia was getting rather uncomfortable. She could see Izraella giving Glenn small and subtle knowing looks every few minutes.

Maia knew that Izraella had her thoughts and opinions and one of them was that she definitely had suspicions, that was a fact that Maia had to accept. No matter how much she could deny it, there was definitely something there.

As the group and the Greene's being; Beth, Jimmy and Patricia arrive at the spot while Shane, Rick, T-Dog and Glenn all set up glass bottles as the targets.

Not much later Shane had started teaching the Greene's how to shoot, nothing special but they were doing well.

Not far from the small group stood Maia observing, she wasn't the best shooter and she knew it too. Guns just weren't her thing, she preferred weapons that didn't require a bullet flying at 3000 kilometres per hour.

It's why she stuck to a bow and arrow, it allowed more control over the weapon but required better aim and fast reflexes.

She stood with her arms folded across her chest, her bow and quiver resting over her shoulder squinting her eyes as the sun shone into them. Izraella was shooting, she hit every bottle she needed to. She was a great sniper; it's how she earned her title as the sniper of the group.

"Show off." Maia raised her voice to Izraella playfully and Izraella stuck her tongue out at the brunette, earning a laugh from the Asian boy who walked up next to Maia, before continuing to shoot.

"Hello there." Glenn tried to sound nonchalant but miserably failed causing Maia to huff, turning to face him.

"What's up?" Maia sighed out, her arms still folded across her chest and tilting her head to the side making eye contact with Glenn.

"Do you know how to shoot a gun? I haven't really seen you use one." Glenn asked Maia over the loud gunshots that were repeatedly getting shot.

"Guns aren't my thing." Maia replied looking at Glenn and then back at the others who were shooting. Glenn furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head.

"But you have good aim, I don't see what the difference is?" Glenn turned his body to face Maia, folding his arms over his chest as they engaged in conversation. The gunshots are still echoing through the fields, one by one.

"That's because I use a weapon that doesn't require me to pull a trigger and have a bullet flying 3000 kilometres per hour." Maia replied with a matter-of-fact tone and a slight chuckle. Glenn smirked softly at her "smartass" response causing him to look down at his feet.

"What's really so different? they both need control and stability, right?" Glenn asked Maia over the gunshots that were fired. Maia shrugged slightly, tilting her head to the side.

"I mean yeah but an arrow doesn't give me whiplash." Maia laughed slightly at her comment, her teeth slightly showing as she smiled.

"So then show me, I mean you said were in ROTC, right?" Glenn asked Maia with a small smile and she nodded acknowledging the fact that he remembered.

"Yeah...I was, you remembered?" Maia furrowed her eyebrows ever so slightly and Glenn nodded with a cheeky grin.

"I mean yeah, why wouldn't I?" Glenn asked curiously and Maia shook her head with a small smile.

"No, nothing I was just surprised you remembered." Maia spoke in a soft manner before Glenn chuckled, shaking his head.

"What can I say, I remember things." Glenn shrugged and had a cheeky smile on his face before Maia smacked his shoulder teasingly.

"Okay, ow. So show me what you got, I've seen you with your bow." Glenn put his hand on his shoulder at the small smack, which for a matter of fact did not hurt one but he was just being dramatic.

"Where's my target?" Maia raised her eyebrows with a smirk and Glenn laughed softly, biting down on his bottom lip.

"I have a peach in my bag, since you think you have a bad aim I will be here to prove you wrong." Glenn smirked in a slight victorious sense and Maia tilted her head to the right.

"I never said anything about me having a bad aim." Maia gave him a "really" look before he shrugged.

"You implied it, so," He reached into his backpack, taking out a peach and throwing it up and catching it.

"Time for you to show off." Glenn smirked, causing Maia to roll her eyes.

"Seriously?" She scoffed at the guy in front of her and he nodded in response.

"Yes, seriously, I'm gonna prove you wrong and you'll get better with shooting so it's a win-win, right?" Glenn laughed and Maia bit down on her bottom lip to refrain from laughing however it didn't work.

"Fine, where am I shooting?" Maia chuckled slightly, shaking her head.

"Uh," Glenn looked around for the nearest tree and held onto the peach in his hand before pointing his index finger towards the nearest tree.

"There. I'll throw the peach into the air and you'll be proven wrong because you're really good at shooting a bow and arrow." Glenn squinted, putting his hand above his eyes to shield them from the sunlight.

"Fine." She swung her bow and quiver off of her shoulder, drawing an arrow and placing it in the bow string.

"Ready when you are." She held the bow and arrow towards the ground before Glenn gave her a slight nod to signal he would do it, and then he did.

He threw the peach into the air, causing Maia to react quickly, drawing the arrow back and letting it fly and hit the peach in the middle and allowing it to pierce into the tree.

Glenn chuckled, shaking his head.

"Shut up." Maia rolled her eyes, jogging forward towards the tree to get the arrow out of the peach.

"See, win-win." He smirked and Maia bit the inside of her cheek as she walked back towards him, trying hard to bite back a small smile. She held her arrow in her hand and then placed it back into the quiver before Izraella walked up to her.

"Come on, your turn." Izraella handed Maia her handgun, Maia held the gun in her hand gazing down at it and then back at Izraella.

"Come on, you can't avoid it forever." Glenn butt in and Maia rolled her eyes before sighing in defeat.

"Fine." She sighed reluctantly and checked the chamber of the gun, seeing how many rounds it had left. She knew the basics, how to hold it, how to handle it, and all because she went to that one year in ROTC, it gave her a small advantage in the world they lived in today.

She walked towards the targets and stood in line with one of the bottles.

"Oh you gonna shoot?" Shane questioned coming up behind Maia who was holding the gun steady in her hands.

"Yeah." Maia replied, loading the gun. Shane was checking out how she did it, watching her every move, circling her like a vulture causing her to stop what she was doing.

"You gonna circle me, or are you gonna give me space before I shoot you?" Maia smiled bitterly, she never enjoyed Shane's presence; it was unsettling and quite frankly creepy.

"Is that a threat?" He asked, stopping in front of her looking her in the eyes. By this time Carl had been shooting as well and he was doing really well, for a 12 year old boy he knew what he was doing.

"It's a promise. Move." Maia spoke in a soft demand so no one else would hear the threat. In the corner of her eye she saw Andrea giving her a side eye which made Maia even more annoyed just by the woman's mere look.

Shane stepped out of the way and held his gun close to him.

"You look like you know what you're doing?" Shane questioned her as she held the gun in the correct stance.

"ROTC helps with that." She replied flatly, aiming at the bottle at least 10 yards away from her. Shane raised his eyebrows in slight shock.

"What? don't you think a woman can go to training like ROTC or the military?" Maia tilted her head at Shane and he sighed heavily.

"I didn't say anything, are you gonna shoot or keep yapping?" Shane spoke in an annoyed tone now causing Maia to huff, giving Izraella a look before turning to the target.

She rests her finger on the trigger and her hands shake slightly, the tension building in her chest, feeling all eyes on her at this very moment. Shane was already over her shoulder watching her like a hawk which already had her anxiety uneasy so she was just slightly shaky.

Her shoulders tense ever so slightly, Glenn catching the small gesture before she pulled the trigger nicking the bottle but not enough to knock it over. Maia sighed softly to herself and Shane scoffed.

"Man, you shoot like a girl." Shane chuckled, shaking his head, earning a glare from Maia who only held the gun in her left hand. She scoffed before aiming the gun at the bottle and shooting it down in one shot.

"I just imagined the bottle was you." She spoke, shoving the handgun into Shane's chest where he glared down at her.

Shane scoffed and Rick smirked at Maia who rolled her eyes in return.

"You're a good shot." Rick walked up to Maia and she sighed in return. She shook her head with a small smile.

"I guess it's only when I wanna be." Maia scoffed at herself with a small smirk of victory. She felt like she won that small disagreement, she never liked Shane, and didn't think she ever would.

"You should try shooting more often, it could benefit you." Rick advised Maia with a small smile, it was like a brother advising a little sister. Maia nodded and had her lips formed into a thin line.

"Aren't bullets more valuable than arrows?" Maia inquired and Rick chuckled.

"Maybe but you're pretty good. Also don't shoot Shane." Rick teased slightly and patted her shoulder causing her to laugh ever so slightly.

"No promises." Maia replied and Rick rolled his eyes before walking off to Carl and Lori again. Maia turned away and walked to Izraella and Glenn.

"We need to provoke you more often." Izraella laughed at Maia's antics, she knew about the IED which Maia wasn't uncomfortable with Izraella made small comments, it made her feel more at ease knowing that her best friend didn't care about her flaws.

"Shut up." Maia chuckled and Izraella smiled. Glenn smiled at Maia with a shrug causing her to roll her eyes.

"Come on, let's wrap this up!" Shane exclaimed and the others nodded gathering all of their things to get back to the farm.

"Let's go." Maia spoke, gathering her bow and arrow, walking back to the car with Izraella next to her and Glenn behind them both.

——————

The others had arrived back at the farm, all helping around, the kids had all been doing homework and Carl was gloating on how he was learning how to shoot.

"Mai!" Luna went running to Maia. Maia laughed softly at her little as she came running toward her.

"What you got there?" Maia chuckled looking down at her little sister who held something in her hand. It was something small and white, like a flower.

Luna got excited over the littlest things. It was adorable. You couldn't help but admire the little girl. She was living in a world where the dead were walking and she got excited over a small flower.

"It's a daisy." Luna bit her bottom lip with a wide smile, her small dimples showing. Maia couldn't help but smile at herself, her dimples visible as well.

"It's so pretty." Maia spoke as Luna held the small daisy out to her. Luna gave Maia a nod to the flower causing the older girl to raise her eyebrows curiously.

"It's for you. I already found Anthony one, oh and he also said he was going on a supply run with Maggie for Lori, she needs like shampoo or something, I don't know." The brunette girl smiled and shrugged at her small explanation before handing Maia the small flower.

Maia took the flower gently and inspected it, a few petals had fallen off but it was a cute and small gesture that Maia appreciated entirely.

The kids were playing pattycake when Maia looked over at them, Lara had waved at Maia with a small grin. The twelve year old Rhee had grown a liking to Maia, it was quite cute but Maia never understood why. So Maia waved back at the girl before walking with Luna towards the small group of kids.

Giselle and Izraella were sitting eating some meat that Dale had cooked up and not long before Luna went to talk to Maia, Lori had walked towards Glenn who was chopping some wood.

Maia sat down with Izraella, Izraella handed Maia a piece of meat which she tried to decline before Izraella inevitably force fed her the piece of meat.

"Okay, there was no need for that." Maia chewed the piece of meat slightly glaring at her best friend.

"There was a need for that, I know you. You'll decline and then won't eat at all, so don't even try." Izraella replied, swallowing her food.

"Shut up." Maia rolled her eyes, swallowing the food and Giselle sighed.

"You're arguing like children." Giselle sighed as she dug into her food Izraella and Maia both snapped their heads to the Ramirez woman with a slightly offended look but inevitably kept quiet.

Lori walked up to Glenn, grabbing his attention from chopping the wood and sticking the axe into the wood.

"I'm sorry. I'm...it just came out. And it was Dale." Glenn rambled, you could hear he was nervous about how Lori would react to him telling Dale that Lori was pregnant.

He had told Dale the night before when they were having a short conversation in the RV. 

"It's okay. I never should've put you in that position. I've been thinking about what you said...about needing help. And you're right that I do." Lori shook her head and explained to Glenn what she was thinking.

"Name it. Yeah." Glenn nodded, his eyes were slightly wide as he listened for Lori's request.

"I asked Anthony to fetch me some stuff like shampoo and stuff like that and I didn't know how to ask him for other things so I waited for you...If you're still willing to make a run into town for me when he gets back with Maggie..." Lori trailed off and Glenn smiled.

"I'm your man." Glenn gave her a reassuring smile and nodded before she walked forward and wrapped him in a hug.

"Thank you." She sighed and he wrapped his arm around her in return.

"It's okay. It's not a big deal really. But...since we're kind of admitting things uhm, I kind of told Maia this morning, she's the only other person that knows and she hasn't told anyone, I don't even think she's mentioned anything to you." Glenn spoke nervously and Lori shook her head.

"It's okay, Glenn, she hasn't said anything so she's keeping her word, she might know where the stuff is and I'd feel comfortable if it were someone that knew so." Lori swallowed a lump in her throat and sighed giving Glenn a small look trying to hint where she's getting at. He finally put the pieces together and quickly nodded.

"Oh yeah, of course, I'll ask her." Glenn nodded and Lori gave him a small smile.

"Thank you." She smiled before walking off with her hands in her back pockets.

——————

"You know, you didn't have to come with me, I could've found my way." Anthony started as he rode a horse next to Maggie. He was trying to break the awkward and tense silence between him and the woman he possibly liked.

"You could hate me from a distance." Anthony sighed when she stayed silent, on her horse, a few metres apart.

"Please say something." Anthony gave Maggie a slight look of desperation as he held onto the small leads on the horse's saddle.

She stayed silent.

After a few more moments of silence, the sound of the horses hooves hitting the pavement underneath them was all that filled their ears and Anthony decided to speak ups

"Maggie, I..." Anthony was cut off by Maggie finally deciding to talk.

"I asked for your trust and you betrayed it. Now my dad's pissed at me. Your turn." Maggie snapped and Anthony was immediately silenced giving her a small side eye when she turned back to look at the road ahead.

"So your dad thinks they're sick? You agree with that, even after what you saw at the well?" Anthony was in slight disbelief as he tried putting the pieces together.

"I'm not sure what I saw at the well." Maggie stopped the horse right outside the pharmacy and climbed down, going to tie the rope to a pole.

"Yes, you are." Anthony stated, following Maggie's exact movements trying to explain to her.

"Look, if you had seen Atlanta you would not have a barn full of walkers." Anthony tried to reason, however Maggie huffed in annoyance and turned to him.

"I wish you'd stop calling them that." Maggie snapped and Anthony stayed silent trying to think of what to say next.

"Then what do you call them?" Anthony asked simply as Maggie tied the rope around the pole and secured it.

"Mom, Shawn, Mr. and Mrs. Fischer, Lacey, Duncan." She listed names of people that had obviously known and cared about while Anthony just stayed silent and listened.

Anthony finished tying a knot on the rope to secure and went inside, taking a list out of his pocket.

"What does she want now?" Maggie sounded annoyed and walked into the pharmacy looking around.

"I can't say, it's personal." Anthony replied and Maggie stopped in her tracks.

"So when one of them asks you to keep your mouth shut..." Maggie scoffed, turning around and walking back towards Anthony who put the list out to her.

"Crawl out of my ass and help me look, please." Anthony spoke softly and calmly, giving Maggie a small look and she opened the piece of paper to reveal the list of things that were needed.

The list consisted of tampons, pads, painkillers, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.

"You've got to be kidding me." Maggie mumbled looking back up at Anthony and walking towards the back of the pharmacy where they kept all of the medicines.

Anthony just stood there in disbelief before he snatched some lotion off of one of the shelves and threw it into a blue plastic basket.

After a bit of looking Anthony managed to find some tampons but no pads in sight. He huffed silently to himself, looking towards the back to see if Maggie was okay in any sort of way.

The sound of snarls and Maggie's yells caught Anthony's attention.

"No!" Her voice echoed through the pharmacy and Anthony's eyes widened.

"No! No!"

"Anthony!" Maggie yelled out for Anthony and his eyes widened when he saw the arm of a walker sticking out from the side of one of the shelves.

"Maggie!" Anthony ran forward.

"Anthony, help me!" Maggie cried out causing Anthony to look around for anything that could be used as a weapon in this situation.

He quickly grabbed a shelf, throwing all of the things off and jumping onto the counter, then whacking the walker down leaving its neck slightly off of its body.

Maggie was hyperventilating and breathing heavily. Anthony's attention was quickly turned away from the walker and back to Maggie jumping down to see if she was okay.

"Did it get you? Did it bite you?" Anthony held Maggie by her forearms, scanning her for any injuries of the sort. He quickly wrapped her in a tight embrace to comfort her as she started to sob, her body shaking as she cried.

"Anthony!" Maggie sobbed out and Anthony turned around to see the walker stand up again with its head flopped to the side. He quickly took out his hunting knife, which is actually Maia's, and stabbed it in the head.

The walker flopped back down onto the ground after Anthony forced the knife out of its head. The walker gargled slightly, blood oozing out of its neck and Anthony stabbed the knife repeatedly to make sure it was dead.

He grunted over and over again, Maggie watching his every move with tears in her eyes, not knowing how to react in this situation.

He panted and stood up again, looking at Maggie before embracing her again.

"It's okay, you're okay." He dropped his knife to the ground and hugged her tightly, one hand moving to the back of her head to comfort her.

"You're okay." He whispered in her ear as she held onto him tightly, crying in his embrace.

"Come on, it's okay, let's get home alright?" Anthony whispered comfortingly in her ear, trying to reassure her.

She nodded and calmed down. Anthony wiped the tears off of her cheeks and her expression went from upset to angry.

"Come on." He ushered her out of the pharmacy picking up all of the things that they picked up for Lori.

——————

As Maggie and Anthony arrived back, she slammed the gate, holding a brown bag full of the stuff Lori asked for.

"Hey! We got your stuff." Maggie called out angrily to Lori, who had been folding some laundry.

"Maggie, hang on, please." Anthony jogged after her as she paced forward.

"Come..Come on in here." Lori waved them over to her tent.

"Why? Nothing to hide." Maggie snapped at her reading into the bag.

"We got your special delivery right here. We got your lotion, got your conditioner, your Soap Opera Digest." Maggie threw the things onto the ground forcefully.

"Maggie." Anthony put his hand on Maggie's shoulder and she shrugged him off.

"Maggie." Lori spoke as well, in disbelief as to why Maggie was angry like this.

"Next time you want something, get it your damn self. We're not your errand boys." Maggie was stern and angry, Lori had wide eyes and shook her head slightly.

"Honey, I..." Lori picked up some of the stuff and held it to her stomach.

"And here's your stupid tampons." Maggie snapped and threw the bag to the floor as well, before stomping off, pushing past Anthony who stood there in disbelief before giving Lori an apologetic look before walking off to follow Maggie.

"What the hell was that? That was not cool." Anthony was stern and in disbelief as he followed Maggie cutting through some trees to stand in front of her.

"Which part? The part where that bitch nearly got us killed?" Maggie snapped at Anthony, clear that she was as angry as ever, she sighed heavily turning away from him for a second.

"I should've gone alone. If you should blame anyone, blame me." Anthony sighed softly.

"Right, take the blame. You know, for a smart guy, you're really stupid." Maggie scoffed, holding back tears and Anthony looked confused.

"What? I'm confused now, you just told me I'm smart and then insulted me..." He was cut off by Maggie walking up to him and kissing him, holding his cheeks as she did so, leaning into the kiss even more.

She broke away from the kiss and Anthony's jaw was dropped, he was absolutely dumbfounded.

"I've already lost three of the people that I care about most in this world." She explained keeping her eyes closed. Anthony shook his head, still completely dumbfounded.

"Maggie..."

"Shut up." Maggie put a finger up to Anthony's lips to signal him to be quiet even after she told him to shut up.

"You're smart. You're brave. You're a good brother. And a good leader. But you don't know it. And your friends don't want to know it. They'd rather have you fetching peaches. You're loyal and I respect that, you're loyal to the people of your group and I admire that and you're willing to risk your life for them, I can't take you becoming one of those things." Maggie rambled and shook her head, her breath shuddering ever so slightly before walking off leaving Anthony dumbfounded again.

He stayed silent and watched her leave him in the same place before he just stared out into the distance.

Anthony walked back up to Lori's tent to see her inside. She nodded so he could come inside and she sighed.

"The blood on Maggie's shirt..." Lori trailed off, clearly feeling bad about what happened.

"She was attacked." Anthony spoke softly.

"Are you guys all right? How bad was it? I don't want Maia and Glenn going if there's gonna be danger." Lori sighed, shaking her head feeling even worse now.

"It was pretty close." Anthony's lips formed a thin line and couldn't help but feel sorry for the Grimes woman.

"I'm so sorry. I should never have asked you to go." Lori shook her head, sighing.

"I offered to help." Anthony replied softly and Lori shook her head looking in front of her.

"I thought the town was safe, but if you hadn't come back..." Lori's breath shuddered.

"But we did. I always do, and whatever reason you're asking Glenn and Maia to go, they'll be fine." Anthony reassured the woman and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Thank you, Anthony." Lori smiled and sniffled softly.

"You're welcome, Lori." Anthony gave her a reassuring smile and nodded before walking out and back to Glenn, Izraella, Maia, Giselle and the kids who were all a good distance away from Lori's tent.

"Glenn, hey man, you can go." Anthony called out to Glenn who nodded.

"Oh yeah, thanks man." Glenn nodded and stood up, his little sister Lara looking up at him with a look of concern and curiosity.

"Where are you going?" Lara asked in a small voice and Glenn gave her a tight lipped smile.

"I'm just going into town, I'll be back don't you worry." Glenn put a hand on Lara's shoulder and she gave him a tight lipped smile in return as he reassured her.

"You're always the one that goes, I barely see you anymore." Lara sighed and Glenn looked at the ground with a sigh.

"I know, I know, but I'll be back, I always come back." Glenn looked his little sister in the eye and she nodded.

"Okay, are you at least going with someone? like so you aren't alone?" Lara looked at Glenn who realised and nodded.

"Actually shoot, I forgot to ask." Glenn looked past Lara's shoulder seeing Maia playing with Izraella, Luna and Rosalyn.

"Uh, Maia!" Glenn called out to Maia and she looked up from what she was doing with curious eyes.

"Huh?" She looked to see Glenn who had called her.

"Wanna come with me on a pharmacy run for Lori?" Glenn cleared his throat when Maia jogged forward towards him.

"What for? I thought Anthony and Maggie went?" Maia looked curious before her eyes landed on her twin brother.

"Hey, dipshit." Maia greeted her twin brother who rolled his eyes in return and Glenn cleared his throat.

"Uh, it's something she forgot to ask Anthony for and I don't know where to find it..." Glenn spoke trying to hint at Maia what he was talking about and she narrowed her eyes.

She took a few seconds but it finally clicked.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, uh, sure I'll come." Maia nodded, inhaling sharply and Glenn nodded giving her a tight lipped smile.

"Let me get my stuff." Maia bit down on her bottom lip before Glenn nodded and watched her walk off.

"You two are way too awkward." Anthony shook his head and folded his arms across his chest.

"I agree, she still has your sweater just by the way." Lara spoke to Glenn whose eyes widened.

"What?" Anthony looked at Glenn confused.

"Nothing, I don't know what she's talking about." Glenn replied quickly and Lara's eyes widened when she realised she basically sold her brother out and mouthed "I'm sorry."

"Mhm." Anthony replied sarcastically before Glenn walked off to get his stuff.

Maia gathered her stuff which consisted of a bag, her bow and arrow, which she carried everywhere, and her hunting knife that Anthony took. It was just for safety reasons.

Maia walked past Glenn's tent towards Lori's where the pregnant woman sat by a makeshift table.

"Hey, Lori." Maia gave the woman a small smile and Lori looked up to see Maia.

"Hey, Honey." She gave Maia a slight smile.

"Are you okay?" Maia asked the woman, not knowing how she'd react, not knowing if Lori knew that Glenn had told her.

"Glenn told me." Lori spoke and Maia sighed.

"I'm so sorry, it was just a spur of the moment thing, I'll keep my mouth shut, I'm pretty good at keeping secrets." Maia chuckled awkwardly and Lori smiled at the girl's awkwardness.

"Thanks, Maia. Are you going with Glenn?" Lori looked at Maia's bow and arrow that was swung over her shoulder.

"Oh yeah, he just asked me." Maia nodded and Lori smiled.

"I asked him if you could go with and I'm pretty sure you could uhm — you know where this could possibly be." Lori took a small piece of paper out of her back pocket and handed it to Maia.

"Is it like?" Maia tried to hint at the fact that it was for feminine hygiene and Lori nodded.

"I'll find it." Maia smiled and nodded before Lori gave her a small smile.

"Thank you. Are you sure, you guys wanna go now? You can go tomorrow, it's fine, I don't need it now." Lori tried to reassure Maia and the brunette shook her head.

"No, it's not a problem. We'll be back before sundown." Maia gave Lori a reassuring smile.

"This is the most I've smiled and nodded in a conversation." Maia commented and Lori laughed, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, honey. Thank you again." Lori's laugh died down and Maia smiled.

"See you later, Lori." Maia smiled and looked down at the paper in her hands, putting it into her back pocket and turned around to be face to face with Glenn.

"Jesus fuck, at least make yourself known." Maia muttered and sighed.

"Scared me for no reason." Maia sighed and Glenn chuckled slightly before earning a look from Maia.

"Whoops?" Glenn shrugged and Maia rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, let's go so we can be back before sundown." Maia replied with a slight smirk before walking to the stables.

"Coming." Glenn followed behind her and they made their way to the stables.

——————

Maia and Glenn rode next to each other on their separate horses, on the way towards the town, they had at least two hours left of sunlight left before it would set.

Silence had set between the two but it wasn't necessarily awkward but it wasn't exactly comfortable either.

After a few more moments of silence Glenn decided to break it.

"So like...now that we're alone, you know..." Glenn spoke up and Maia sighed knowing this was coming.

"Look, about this morning, I lied so our asses could be saved." Maia sighed and looked over at Glenn who was already looking over at her.

"I know, but I just wanted to apologise. It was a spur of the moment thing, I don't want things to be, you know, awkward?" Glenn had a nervous look on his face, not knowing how Maia would react. She just chuckled lightly.

"Glenn, it's fine I swear. We're good." Maia smiled at Glenn, her heart kind pained ever so slightly, knowing that he thought it was a spur of the moment thing. She didn't necessarily know what to think, she just thought back to the conversations she had with Giselle and Izraella.

"Get your feelings straight, Amor."

That's what Giselle said, would Maia actually try? Maybe. Did she want to right now? No.

"Are you sure? Like-." Glenn was cut off by a small laugh exiting Maia's lips. She shook her head giving him a glance and then back at the road ahead.

"Are you laughing at me?" Glenn furrowed his eyebrows and Maia shook her head before licking her chapped lips.

"No, no, of course not." Maia bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from smiling. Glenn looked at Maia with a look of disbelief before cracking a small smile at her dimples that appeared on her face.

"Here's the pharmacy." Glenn pointed to the pharmacy that held a sign in the window which read: "Take what you need and God Bless."

Maia nodded and the two stopped in front of the pharmacy, the horse's hooves coming to a halt and the two young adults climbing off the back of their designated horses.

"Did Lori give you a list?" Glenn asked tying a knot on the rope around a pole so his horse wouldn't go anywhere, Maia following the same movements.

Maia nodded at Glenn's question and tied a reasonable knot to secure the horse from going anywhere.

"Yeah, I didn't read it yet, but she said I might know where to find the stuff." Maia replied, adjusting the bow and arrow that was on her shoulder.

Glenn nodded, his eyes then scanning to the bow and quiver on her shoulder narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

"Do you take that bow everywhere? Or is it just for safety?" Glenn asked as Maia adjusted the bow and arrow on her shoulder. She looked at him with a slightly confused look before comprehending his question.

"Oh, it's just for safety." Maia replied, nodding her head, there was way more to her bow and arrow than anyone knew. It was special to her and forever would be.

Glenn nodded in return before walking forward and pushing the door handle to the pharmacy, the small bell ringing as he pushed the door open, Maia following behind him her small bag in her hand.

Maia took the small list out of her back pocket unfolding it to read it, as well as walking forward standing in the middle of the aisle that was the small "hallway" in front of the entrance.

"What does it say?" Glenn asked Maia as she stopped in tracks to read the list. She looked up saying nothing, almost as if she wasn't focusing. She hadn't been focusing as much the past few hours, she didn't know why.

"Uhm, morning after pills, and uhm..." Maia sighed as she read the next thing. Glenn's eyes turned to one of concern and saw the gaze in her eyes as she read over the words repeatedly.

"Abortion pills." Maia sighed out and Glenn's lips parted ever so slightly.

"Morning after pills, should be in feminine hygiene and abortion pills should be at the back, i'll check." Maia huffed and Glenn nodded, the two sharing a silent look even though they were alone.

Maia sighed before inevitably walking over the scattered items on the floors and walked behind the counter.

As Maia walked behind the counter she was met with a dead walker which was bleeding out, it was a horrible stench.

"Oh my god." Maia scowled, her eyes widened and she looked down at the body, blood all over the floor.

"What?" Glenn quickly walked over and saw the dead walker, his jaw dropped and eyes widened as well.

"Dear god." He was gobsmacked.

"Uhm, I'll look for the...and you look for the...yeah, okay." Maia pointed between herself and Glenn in shock as she was trying to comprehend what she just saw. Glenn nodded in return and quickly went looking for the pills.

Maia sighed walking past the body, looking between the shelves for the pills. She examined almost every single packaging and bottle, looking and reading through the prescriptions, moving the bottles up close to her face to read it. Considering that her eyesight was rather horrible.

She finally found a small box with the right prescription and type of pill that Lori had asked for, the thoughts racing through Maia's head.

"Maia?" Glenn called out for Maia, and she looked up.

"Huh?" She peeped her head up and saw Glenn peak his head from behind a shelf.

"Just checking if you're still there." Glenn replied before continuing to search for the pills. Maia's face twisted to one of confusion before it slightly faded as she placed them in her bag that she was wearing.

The bow and quiver, she kept adjusting it every two minutes at least. It was bugging her but she wouldn't just leave it.

"Well I found the pills." Maia called out to Glenn and put up a thumbs up that you could barely see over the shelves. She chuckled slightly before walking around the counter again.

"Have you found it?" Maia asked Glenn, leaning over his shoulder and he shook his head.

"Nope, maybe it's on the floor with the rest of this other crap." Glenn sighed heavily before Maia helped him look around and she sorted through the different items on the ground.

"Ha! found them." Glenn smirked in victory as he picked up the pills. Maia gave him raised eyebrows and a slight laugh before he handed her the pills and she put them in her bag.

As she placed the pills into her bag a loud neigh came from outside, alarming the two. Their heads shot up and they gave each other a look before they stood up quickly, running out the door.

Sounds of snarls came from outside, small squelches and the loud neighs of pain. A walker was feeding on one of the horses. The two young adults' eyes widened and Maia ran forward stabbing the walker in the head.

Her knife got stuck in the base of its skull and she struggled to pull it out. She grunted trying to get the knife out of the walker's skull. She was sitting on top of it trying to get the knife out but it wouldn't budge.

The sounds of Glenn yelping as he fought away another two walkers, she wasn't expecting this at all. They thought the town was clear, they thought it was safe.

The walkers were coming out of nowhere.

"Glenn!"

There were at least six of them, Maia had finally gotten the knife out of the base of its skull, stumbling back at the amount of force. A walker came at her and she screamed out in fear at the sudden sight.

Glenn's eyes widened as he saw Maia getting attacked and he tried fighting off the last two walkers, trying to keep them away from the other horse at all costs. But he wanted Maia to be safe.

Maia backed up and the walker had her pushed up against the glass, the walker had a strange amount of force and she grunted as she kicked it back away from her. Glenn had stabbed the walker she kicked back with a hatchet that Rick gave him.

All of a sudden out of nowhere a walker came at her from the side and pushed her up against the glass with a push that broke the glass, causing her to fall through and the walker to fall on top of her.

She fell on her back, the glass shattering and leaving cuts all over her, she managed to stab the walker in the back of the head before she hit her head on the ground.

Glenn looked at Maia as she fell through the shattered glass.

"Maia!" He yelled out for her in worry going inside to see the walker going in for a bite before he stabbed it in the head. Maia was knocked out by the impact on the back of her head.

He pushed the walker off of her body and examined her body for any bites but all he saw were cuts and gashes from the glass, her face was covered in blood. He tried wiping it off with his shirt, the blood staining his shirt. His eyes were wide in worry and his shock at everything that had just happened.

"Come on, Maia." Glenn whispered, wiping her face gently with his shirt but also in a bit of a hurry. He held her face in his hands for a few seconds, tilting it side to side to examine the small cuts.

He stayed there on the ground for at least two minutes, panting as he looked at the woman he called a friend on the ground. He scooted towards her laying her head in his lap, patting her cheek lightly trying to wake her up out of this unconscious state.

"No, no..." He whispered and put his hand on her cheek brushing a hair out of her face.

His eyes were wide, he didn't know what to do, he swore he would've started crying out of frustration and worry. One of the people he cared most about was unconscious on the ground. She was still breathing, thank god, but he didn't know how long it would take her to wake up.

At least after 15 minutes of Glenn's panicking, he was keeping an eye on both outside and on Maia. She started stirring and he quickly made his way back to her side.

Repeating the same process he followed just 15 minutes ago. Tapping her cheek lightly to wake her up from the unconscious state.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she looked up at Glenn panting, sweat on her face and blood smeared on her face.

"Thank god." Glenn sat her up and wrapped her in a tight embrace, she felt the impact of her head hitting the ground. The back of her head was throbbing and she felt lightheaded and dizzy.

She looked at Glenn when he pulled away from the hug, she couldn't speak, she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Tears brimmed her eyes and she wiped her face with the back of her hand seeing blood all over her hands and clothes. She looked at Glenn and her lips were parted — she had started hyperventilating, her lip quivering and her hands shaking.

"Glenn." Those were the only words she could get out, her breath shuddering and tears spilling from her eyes.

"Wha-." She inhaled sharply and Glenn hugged her, she looked at her hand that was covered in blood and tears stained his shirt and he held the back of her head gently to comfort her.

"We will get you back to the farm." Glenn whispered in her ear, she felt her skin stinging from the cuts from the shards of glass that penetrated her skin.

Glenn held her by her shoulders now as he pulled away from the hug and she had tears staining her cheeks, blood was smeared all over her face. The back of her head was still throbbing.

"Can you- can you walk? stand? anything?" Glenn had his eyes still wide but they relaxed knowing she was awake and aware of her surroundings.

Maia shook her head ever so slightly, it hurt to move her head, it felt heavy. She felt so horrible at this very moment. One second she was fighting off walkers and the next she was unconscious and woke up with blood all over her.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, her eyes heavy and tears rolling down her cheeks before Glenn took her face in his hands.

"Hey, hey, stay with me." Glenn whispered trying to keep her eyes open. She opened her eyes and she breathed in and out deeply, trying to contain herself.

Glenn stood up and wrapped a protective arm around her waist to help her up, her legs felt as if they were not functional, like jelly.

"Hey, come on, you can do this, it's okay." Glenn helped her as he felt her slipping, he took her bow and arrow that was on the ground and the bag that held the pills in and swung them both over his shoulder.

He looked over at the dead walker which had Maia's knife in the back of its head. He helped her over to the walker, she stumbled walking and he pulled the knife out of its head and helped Maia outside.

The other horse had fallen over after the first walker fed on it, the bodies of a few walkers made the other horse uneasy, its neighs were loud and upset, however Glenn had tried to keep it quiet in case there were more walkers.

He ushered her and held her waist still, helping her walk. She wasn't focused on anything, her head felt heavy and her skin stung so much, it was like a thousand paper cuts.

He helped towards the horse, lifting her up onto the back of the horse that wasn't attacked and he got on as well, helping her every step of the way. He kept all of the knife in his pocket and bow and arrow over shoulder as well as the bag that held the pills.

Glenn whispered all of his words to Maia, He had her wrap her arms around his waist to hold onto him so she wouldn't fall off, he had untied the rope already and they had set off back to the farm.

Nothing was making sense anymore. Maia was unfocused and resting her throbbing skull on Glenn's back with her arms wrapped around his waist, the blood on her face starting to dry and turn slightly brown.

The sun had started to set when they arrived back. Glenn had helped Maia off the horse getting her help as soon as possible, his eyes filled with tears.

Everything was such a blur, Maia wasn't paying attention to anything, not that she could. It felt merely impossible.

Hershel had helped Maia to a bedroom in his farmhouse. Luna was crying, worried sick about her older sister and Anthony the same.

The kids, Glenn, the entire group, worried sick about Maia.

As Hershel checked her out, Glenn had explained what happened. He felt uneasy and scared, everyone looked at the blood that stained his shirt, all of it being Maia's.

At least they didn't lose her, right?

————————

jada speaks!!
y'all... this is a long one.
I have too much motivation and i'm seven episodes away from season 3, that's kind of what's keeping me going rn.
but a lot has happened this chapter, no more awkward glaia however we have a near death experience? omg??
i hope you enjoyed this, i'm making it up to you guys as my lovely readers by giving you long chapters and updating frequently.
so rn i feel like a word count is necessary
word count: 7996
jesus
tags: BerxshiresWp p0iisoned alycialcver cigaretteskissess avaawritesz eltheria