"How did you survive here for so long? Where did your supplies come from?" Rick paced the church with Judith in his arms. Austin pushed the bandana up on his head some as he shut his eyes for a second, tipping his head back on the wall before regaining some form of strength and clarity.

"Luck." Gabriel smiled. "Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me. The food lasted a long time. And then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place nearby. Except for one."

"How come?" Austin leaned over one of the benches to look his way.

"It's overrun." Gabriel explained to him.

"Ugh, that's the worst." Austin shook his head.

"Yes." Gabriel agreed. "A dozen or so. Maybe more."

"We can handle a dozen." Rick spoke up.

"Yeah, gotta get more food." Austin inhales with a nod. "We'll have another mouth to feed soon. When we find Beth."

They all struggled to know if he said it because he believed it, or if he was trying to make himself feel better.

"Bob and I will go with you." Sasha volunteered herself and her boyfriend. "Tyrese should stay here, help keep Judith safe."

"That'll be okay?" Rick looked his way. "Austin and Carl will be here too."

"I can go." Ausrin looked to his dad.

"No, I need to know you'll be here." Rick spoke sternly. "We're not gonna get separated again."

Usually, he'd argue. But, he understood.

"Ever need me to watch her, ever need anything for her, i'm right here." Tyrese spoke honestly as he glanced toward Judith in Carls arms.

"I'm grateful for it." Rick walked closer as Austin put his arm around Carl, making a face at Judith to see if she'd smile. "And everything else."

"I'll draw you a map." Gabriel tried to help.

"You don't need to." Rick stopped him. "You're coming with us."

He gave a nervous smile. "I'm not gonna be of any help. You saw me."

"Hey, man." Austin shook his head. "We were all like that before. Takes a while to get use to things. No one's judging you."

Austin shot Daryl a look. "No one."

"You're coming with us." Rick repeated as Gabriel looked toward Austin, getting the best look of encouragement as a eighteen year old boy, who lost too many people already, and was dripping of grief and anxiety, could give.

"Bubba. Bubba. Come on, I know you wanna saw it." Austin spoke to Judith, his knees pulled up to his chest as she rested on them, staring up at him. "Bubba."

She cooed slightly as he had to laugh. "Okay, maybe next time."

"She missed you." Tyrese spoke as he looked his way, looking away from the bus he was helping Abraham with. "When we were on the road."

"She told you that?" Austin asked him with a half grin.

"I could just tell." Tyreese shook his head. "When it came to putting her to sleep, she'd reach out for my finger. I remember how when you'd put her to bed at night, she had to hold your pinkie."

"Thank you for keeping her safe, Tyreese." Austin blinked his way, shaking his head as he looked down at Judith. "Better then I did."

"You can't do that." he shook his head to him. "What happened at the prison, no one saw coming. You went back for her, i'd already gotten to her."

"Still, I should have thought about her first." Austin shook his head. "But, all I was worried about was if Beth was okay after her dad just died. Now, I messed that up too."

Tyreese went to talk before the group rolled up again, Rick rubbed Austin's head as he headed toward Carl. Austin looked down to Judith, scattering a few kisses across her face to earn a laugh.

"Hey." Glenn walked over and collapsed next to him with a sigh. "Got you something."

Austin looked over as Glenn held up a pack of Dora The Explorer bandaids. "Made me think of you."

"Did it?" Austin laughed as he took them from him.

"With that pink backpack you have." Glenn laughed slightly, his arm rested behind him slightly. "You know we're gonna need someone with medical experience soon."

"Carol?" Austin frowned his eyebrows, getting a head shake. "Me?"

"You've stitches me up a few times." Glenn pointed out. "I know Hershel taught you a few things."

"Yeah, like how to stitch people up. Not save lives." the Grimes boys eyes widened. "You're crazy."

"You're our best chance." Glenn patted his back. "I know you got this. And these-"

He held up the Dora band aids again. "-are your new good luck charms."

"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham spoke up as he got to his feet, the church filled with the group with full plates. Austin finished cleaning a cut on Sasha's arm, smiling at her to show he'd finished, planting a band aid over it. "I look around this room... and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survives!"

"Survivors! Cheers!"

They all held their glasses up with a grin. Abraham nodded. "Is that all you wanna be? Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat?"

"Hell no!" Austin yelled out, a few too many sips of wine. The group laughed.

"That boy can't handle his alcohol to save his life." Daryl shook his head as he yanked Austin under his arm.

"Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill." Abraham nodded as he looked around. "Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. You do what that boy said, you pull a 'hell no' and listen to him. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip. Eugene, what's in DC?"

The brunette cleared his throat. "Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even if this fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"How ever this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there." the red haired man reassured the group. "Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there...who got nothing left to do except survive."

Rick gave a chuckle as he looked around, Judith cooed. "What was that? I think she knows what i'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, i'm in. We're in."

Everyone started to cheer, Austin looked at his dad in disbelief. He spoke for all of them, they were the we. Austin wasn't going to DC, he wasn't leaving without Beth, and Abraham was talking about leaving soon. He stood up, no longer in the mood to be close as Daryl's arm fell from his shoulder. "Austin."

"It's fine." he walked off, getting to his own corner as he passed his dad, who's eyes followed him, sensing he was pissed, or upset. He knew, because Austin shared that trait so well with Lori. The face, the angry state, the sulking, the silent treatment, the way he expected everyone else to read his mind. That was her, and Rick knew he needed to talk it out of him if he was gonna drop the grudge.

•

kylie speaks

THE BANDAIDS BRO! THE
BANDAIDS ARE SO IMPORTANT!