⌜ chapter twelve ⌟

"Matt!" Dean calls as he and Rick help the three injured newcomers into the cellblock.

"Carl, get a blanket." Rick quickly tells his son. "Beth, water and a towel." He's carrying Michonne because she passed out just as they made it to the gate.

Rick's trying to help her as Matt rushes over to Sam. "I gotta stitch this up." He says as he looks at the cut on Sam's torso. "Jo, get my kit from my cell. It's under the bed."

"Got it." The blonde says and then disappears into the cellblock.

"What about you? Are you hurt?" Matt glances up at Adam.

"Not as badly as they are." He tells him.

"Who the hell are they?" Daryl questions as he walks out of the cellblock with Jess right behind him.

"Sam?" The blonde gets his attention, and he looks up at her.

"Jess?" The sound of his voice immediately sends chills down her spine.

"Oh my God." She rushes over as he gets to his feet. "You're hurt." She takes a step back when she notices his bloodstained shirt.

"I don't care." Sam says as he pulls her to him, wrapping his arms around her.

"They're my brothers." Dean tells Daryl, looking away from the reuniting couple in front of them. "And...their friend, I guess."

"They said that you were alive, but I..." Jess looks up at Sam. "I honestly lost all hope that I'd ever actually get to see you again."

"How are you..." He trails off, too happy that she is in his arms to care about the how.

"Chuck, er, uh..." Dean clears his throat as he looks at his younger brother. "God."

"What?" He looks over at Dean, confused.

"Yeah, we got a lot to catch up on, Sammy."

"How did you three find us?" John asks as he looks between his two youngest sons, while handing Dean a water bottle. "Holy water."

"I'm not a demon." Sam says.

"Sorry, man. We can't be too sure these days." Dean says as he splashes some water on Sam, then on Adam. "Check her." He tosses the bottle to Rick.

"Let Matt handle them." Daryl says. "Ya'll come on in here."

"Everything alright?" Rick asks.

"You're gonna wanna see this."

He looks at Dean. "Go ahead. Carl, get the bag." He says as Dean follows Daryl.

Sam looks down at Jess again, and she smiles at him. He then leans down and presses his lips to hers, causing her to giggle. She kisses him back and then wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him again.

"Alright, you two are adorable." Matt says, only a little sarcastic. "But I really need to stitch up his side now."

Daryl leads Dean to a cell on the first floor, and the latter's confused as he walks up behind his wife. "What's—" He freezes.

"Hi, Daddy." Dana smiles up at him, and Jack helps her to her feet.

"Daryl and I found her and Carol in solitary." The teenager says as Dean walks over to his daughter, she wraps her arms around his neck, and he lifts her off the ground.

"The girls fought their way into a cell. Must have passed out." Daryl explains. "They're dehydrated, but Matt says that they'll be fine."

"It was because of T, he held some of them off while we ran." Dana says as Dean sets her back on her feet, but he doesn't let her go. "And then we get back here, and Mom said that MJ found you. Sophia's with Carol now... And she told me about Lori."

Dean wipes tears from his face and he sees her dagger laying on the bed. Her grandfather gave it to his wife as a gift a long time ago, and then Ellen gave it to Dana when she started learning to hunt. The blade has been wiped clean, but there's still small traces of blood on the handle.

"Rick!" Matt suddenly yells, immediately gaining everyone's attention. "Dean! John! Get back in here, now!" The urgency in his voice causes the entire group to rush over.

"What's going on?" Rick questions.

"MJ, Glenn, and Maggie were taken." Jo quickly tells them.

"What?" He looks back at the three newest additions to the group.

"There's a town — Woodbury." Adam says, and they all look at him. "About seventy-five survivors. We think they were taken there."

"A whole town?"

"Yeah, uh..." Sam clears his throat as he gets to his feet. "It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor."

"Pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type." The girl — Michonne — tells them.

"He got muscle?" Daryl asks.

"Paramilitary wannabes." She says. "They have armed sentries on every wall."

"Do you know the way in?" John asks.

"The place is secure from the dead, but we could slip our way through." Sam says.

"How'd you know how to get here?" Rick asks as he looks between the three of them.

"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, that it was a straight shot." Adam tells them.

"This is Hershel, Maggie's father." He looks back down at Michonne. "He'll take care of that." He motions to the gunshot in her leg and then heads back into the cellblock with the others.

"Dean!" Sam calls after him. "You can't leave us out of this. She's our sister too."

"I don't run things around here, Sam. He does." Dean points in the direction Rick went. "I'll talk to him, we'll figure something out. Sit tight, little brother."

The others are all by the stairs that lead to the second floor, and they're all discussing what to do. "How do you know we can trust them?" Oscar questions.

"Because I know my family." Dean says as he joins the group.

"This is Maggie, Glenn, and MJ. Why are we even debatin'?" Beth looks at them.

"We ain't." Daryl tells her. "I'll go after 'em."

"Well, this place sounds pretty secure. You can't go alone." Rick says.

"He won't be." Addy says.

"Not by a long shot." Ellen adds.

"You got a whole family of hunters that's been up against way worse than this prick — things you've seen and things you wish you never will." Dean tells Rick, earning their leader's attention. "We're going."

—

Daryl's now looking at their stuff in the back of one of the cars. "I got the flashbangs and I got the tear gas." He says. "You never know what you're gonna need."

Dean walks over to the Impala with his two younger brothers. "We're gonna get her back." Sam says as he looks at the oldest.

"Don't have to tell me twice. Or, hell, even once." Dean tells him. "You haven't seen what these people can do."

"How long have you been with them?"

"Me — not long." He says. "But MJ and Jack have been with them for about a year. She trusts them. That's good enough for me."

"What's going on here?" Gabriel asks as he shows up behind the boys.

"Rescue mission. Don't suppose you want to make this easy and just track Glenn and Maggie, bring them and MJ home safe." He says, not bothering to turn around. Gabriel doesn't say anything. "'Course not."

"I thought you were dead." Sam says as he looks at the angel.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Dean says and then walks away.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Adam questions.

"Gabriel — he's Michael and Lucifer's brother." Sam tells him.

"Oh, that's nice." He says sarcastically.

Gabriel heals the two of them and then just disappears. Sam scoffs as John and Mary walk over to the car.

"He do that a lot?" Sam asks.

"Yeah." His dad nods as he looks through their weapons in the trunk.

"Adam, I think you should stay here​." His brother tells him. "Dean says that they've been dealing with demons and angels. You've gotten pretty good at taking care of demons, and I don't think all of us should leave."

"Yeah, alright." He reluctantly agrees. "But you bring her back. It'd suck if we lost her before I got a chance to get to know her."

"Oh, she's coming back." Dean says as he walks back over to them with his gun in hand. "You don't know our sister. I actually feel bad for these sorry sons of bitches who took her."

"You ready to go?" Rick calls over to them.

"We're good!"

The group's taking three cars to drive out to this town. Rick's in the lead in the silver one and he's got Daryl, Oscar, and Michonne with him. John's in the Impala behind them with his wife and their two sons. Then Ellen's driving the last car with both of her daughters with her.