LIV

the assignment nearly killed me but i finished and i'm back. i only have three prewritten chapters left so updates will probably be slow until i mass produce some more.

—/<3/—

They returned to the prison with a bus full of residents, people who couldn't fend for themselves after the fall of Woodbury. Elderly people, babies and children; Rick was finally allowing newcomers.

"I suppose we should start fixing the place up then." Rory smiled, watching the new people look around and settle in. It was a huge downgrade from Woodbury, but it was a safe place to live.

"I'm putting you in charge of the new gardens, you'll be responsible for the food we grow here, the medicine, it's all on you," Rick said, his hands on his hips as he observed the state of the fences and fields.

"I have an environmental science degree, that doesn't make me a farmer," Rory chuckled, "but I'll take it, it's better than stabbing dead things through a fence."

"It's miles better than stabbing dead things through a fence," Rick smiled.

"As a former sheriff, would you think it was weird if I grew weed?"

Rick gave her a look and she held her hands up. "Hey, it's been proven to have a lot of health benefits."

—/<3/—

"Looks like you'll have to move into a cell now," Rory said as she approached Daryl around the back of the prison, running a hand over his shoulder. The back of the main building was their new smoking area, courtesy of Rick, out of sight from the children since the watchtowers had been blown to pieces.

"Don't like 'em. I'd rather sleep outside," Daryl grumbled, shifting his weight so Rory could lean into his side.

"Well..."

"Well what?"

"You'd have to share with Jonah until we sort out the other cell blocks for the new people, so I told Mikey to move in with Niamh so Jonah and Archie could share and now I'm with you...You okay with that?"

"You're better than Jonah or some random guy from Woodbury," Daryl said. He wrapped his arm around Rory's shoulders and let her take a drag from his cigarette, watching as the smoke escaped her lips.

"I would hope so, being your girlfriend and all." Rory rolled her eyes, her smile widening as she watched the tips of his ears turn red. "Did you forget or something?" She teased.

"No." Daryl scoffed. He hesitated and then used the arm around her shoulders to move her into his chest, looking around cautiously for anyone who could be watching. Then he leaned down and pecked her lips sweetly, pulling back to take a drag. "Why would I forget?"

"I was just teasing," Rory chuckled. She ran her hands up his chest and linked them behind his neck, pushing her body closer to his.

"Why are you actin' so weird?" Daryl questioned, tossing the cigarette to the ground.

"How am I acting weird?" Rory raised an eyebrow.

"You're being extra touchy."

Rory laughed. "If I recall correctly, you put your arm around my shoulder and moved me closer to you and you're the one who kissed me. Am I being extra touchy or are you?"

"Whatever," Daryl said shyly, refusing to meet her eye. Rory gently gripped his chin and turned his face back towards her.

"One more and I'll leave you alone," she whispered, standing on her toes so their faces her level. Daryl nodded slowly and his hands traveled down to hold her hips as she slotted her lips over his in a slow and passionate kiss that had Daryl reeling for more.

But then she pulled away and left without another word, and Daryl couldn't find the words to tell her that he didn't want her to leave him alone.

—/<3/—

"Rory, I'm sendin' a few people to the garden centre about five miles south, do you wanna make them a list or go with them?" Rick approached her as she helped Glenn fix the gate the next morning, Carl trailed behind him with his hand on his gun, keeping an eye out for walkers.

"I'll just go with them. I know what I need and they might not get the right stuff," Rory replied with a grunt, straining to hold the fence together whilst Glenn attempted to weld it with some equipment he found in the boiler room.

"Okay. They're gonna leave in about half an hour so get ready."

"Can we take the pick-up truck? It'll be easier to bring fertiliser and possible fruit trees back if we have it," Rory asked hopefully.

"You think fruit trees would've survived this long in a giant greenhouse?" Rick raised an eyebrow.

"Depends if they're kept outside or not...It might already be looted anyway, it's just wishful thinking."

"You can take it, I'll just have to move all the stuff we took from Woodbury out of it first."

"Thank you."

—/<3/—

"Girl's trip?" Rory asked hopefully as she looked at who stood around the car. Michonne and Sasha waited patiently as they counted bullets and checked the map.

"Girl's trip plus Tyreese," The man said, appearing behind Rory with a machete and a jug of water that he shoved into the backseat.

"Good enough for me, dibs on driving." Rory smiled and caught the keys Michonne threw to her.

"Wait!" Niamh yelled as she sprinted for the truck. "I'm coming. I've been stuck in this damn prison for too long." Niamh climbed over Sasha's lap with a quiet 'excuse me' and settled into the middle seat, squeezing between Tyreese and Sasha with a giant smile on her face. "Buckle up, Rory likes to drive like an F1 driver," Niamh joked.

"No I do not," Rory huffed at the accusation. "I'm a very sensible driver." She started the car and began rolling down the hill to the gate, braking so Rick and Daryl could yank it open whilst Maggie and Carol distracted and killed the walkers.

"I'm so excited, I haven't been on a road trip in a while. Do you think we'll find some starter potatoes or something? I really miss potatoes and I'm not just saying that because I'm Irish," Niamh rambled.

"They got African-American folk in Ireland?" Sasha asked dumbly.

"No, but we do have black people, y'know, because we're not American so we can't be African-American..." Niamh answered, failing to hold back the laugh that escaped her after. "I'm Irish but I'm also black."

"Oh right yeah, that makes sense." Sasha nodded.

"Michonne, which way am I turning from here?" Rory asked as they pulled up to a junction. She stopped the car and peered over Michonne's shoulder at the map.

"Turn left and then it's straight ahead for two miles before the next turning," she said.

"Perfect, thank you."

"Can you do my hair like that? I never used to do my own hair and it's been hard to keep it untangled and healthy," Sasha pointed to Niamh's locs that hung just past her shoulders.

"Rory actually does my hair, my dad taught her," Niamh smiled. "I give her piercings and she does my hair. We barter and trade like it's the medieval times."

"Well considering money ain't a thing anymore, we should bring back trading, a favour for a favour," Tyreese suggested, looking between the girls.

"If you can find a comb and some gel, I'll do your hair for you, Sasha," Rory offered. "But I'm not that good and without hair, I can only do locs or twists."

"Really? Thank you so much." Sasha smiled. She turned to Niamh and whispered, "Where'd you find this white girl?"

"We've been best friends for ten years." Niamh smiled proudly.

—/<3/—

"There's quite a few outside...Do you think there will be many inside?" Tyreese questioned quietly as the five of them ducked behind a wall.

"It's a big place, there's bound to be a few, but it'll be worth it if it means we can grow food, looting is getting harder these days." Rory picked up a brick and made sure the group was prepared before throwing it over the wall, drawing the crowd of walkers away from the garden centre entrance.

Then they moved, tiptoeing into the parking lot and taking down the walkers whilst they were distracted.

"Check the windows before you open the door," Michonne warned as Sasha reached for the door handle. The girl nodded and she and her brother went to the large windows on either side of the double doors, peering through them to gauge the level of danger inside.

Niamh positioned herself to throw open the door whilst Rory and Michonne prepared their weapons to attack. Michonne held her sword in front of her whilst Rory gripped her knife.

"There's only a few from what I can see, there might be more hiding in the aisles though," Tyreese informed.

"Same on this side," Sasha added. Niamh nodded and then threw open both doors, slipping out of the way so Michonne and Rory could rush in and swiftly take them down.

The garden centre had been looted but there was still a great deal left behind that the prison could use. Bonemeal fertiliser, bags of peat-free soil, tools and seeds.

"Grab a few carts, we're gonna need them," Rory instructed excitedly. Niamh ran to the side of the room and grabbed two, handing one off to Sasha.

"Tyreese and I will go make sure the place is clear. Grab what we need and meet us back at the car in twenty," Michonne proclaimed, nodding to Rory before stalking off down the centre aisle with Tyreese hot on her tail.

"Start grabbing the soil and fertiliser, I'm gonna search for vegetable seeds." Rory grinned.

—/<3/—

"Found your seed potatoes," Rory nudged Niamh as she dumped four bags into the card along with cabbage and carrot seeds. "I found some dead tomato plants around the side so I'm hoping there will be more outside that survived because they were rained on."

"Carrots, cabbage and potatoes...was there nothing else?" Sasha asked.

"No, most of the seeds have already been taken, that's why I'm holding on hope for the outside plants, but you can check the fruit seeds if you want, they won't be as filling as vegetables but food is food," Rory replied.

"Place is clear, we got the rest of them," Michonne said as she met up with them at the front of the store. She dumped a pack of bamboo sticks, a pair of hedge shears and some metal wire into the cart. "Are we almost done here?"

"Yeah, help me grab some of these ceramic pots, we don't know if the field is barren and if it is, we're gonna need pots." Michonne nodded and helped Rory load up the last cart.

"I got blackberry seeds and gooseberry seeds," Sasha called. "I've never had a gooseberry before but the picture on the packaging looks good."

"They're quite bitter but you might like them, I don't know if it'll be too hot to grow them here though 'cause these are European gooseberries, we might have to plant them in fall so the plant doesn't die."

"There are multiple types of gooseberry?" Niamh asked.

"There are multiple types of most plants, American gooseberries grow in the northern states where it's a bit cooler," Aurora informed.

"Right, let's go outside and look for those trees and then we can go back." Niamh clapped her hands together excitedly.

She and Rory skipped outside and around the side of the building, keeping their eyes open for danger, whilst Tyreese and Sasha took the carts to the car to get a head start on packing up.

"Are those oranges?" Michonne perked up when she rounded the corner to see the two girls gathering up the fallen fruits.

Rory nodded excitedly and presented the fruits she'd collected in the bottom of her shirt. "How many orange trees do you reckon we should take...two? There's tomato plants over there too and I think that's a lemon tree."

"We got a lot of people to feed now, I say take three orange trees, the lemon tree and as many tomato plants as we can fit." Michonne took an orange and peeled it expertly, popping a slice in her mouth with an appreciative sigh. "It's been a while since I've had proper fruit."

"I can't believe no one found these," Niamh laughed incredulously. "It's a goldmine back here."

"Everyone was so focused on getting the seeds that they forgot these stores sell fully grown plants too." Rory grinned. "The trees are only small but the pots will be heavy, be careful grabbing them."

—/<3/—

"What in the hell?" Rick chuckled in disbelief when they returned. "It looks like you cut down a whole forest and brought it with you."

"I told you there would be fruit trees," Rory said as she jumped out of the car, slipping an orange into his hand.

"And you're gonna plant all these?" He questioned, tossing the fruit up and down in his hand before digging his thumb into the peel.

"No, we'll leave them in the pots and top up the soil with the stuff we got today," I'm not sure about planting things in the field when so much walker blood has seeped into it. Plus, if we need to leave for whatever reason, we can take a tree or two with us."

"And what about the seed packets?"

"We brought some planter pots, they're big enough to keep berry bushes and vegetables in until we can found out if the soil here can grow plants."

"Well, you're the expert, do what you need to do."

—/<3/—