Blurred Lines

The Clarks [TWD/FtWD]

#243 "The kids. They ambushed me."

Summary: Alicia's in for a surprise when the group comes back from a scavenging trip.

Tags: Family Reunion

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Alicia's in and out of sleep in her cell, the entire cell block nice and peaceful before the sun rises. But even after being behind concrete walls and several fences surrounding said concrete walls for a little over a year now, Alicia still finds herself on edge when it gets too quiet.

Nearly muted footfalls alert her to someone approaching and given Alicia is not alone in her cell, she grips the dagger hidden beneath her pillow tight in one hand. As the figure stops in the doorway she starts to sit up slowly, but Daryl's gruff voice halts her. "Easy, 'licia. S'just me."

She sighs softly and glances over at the slumbering toddler on the mattress situated on the floor to make sure she's still asleep. "Dammit, Dixon. You need a bell."

"That would defeat the purpose, dumbass." Alicia huffs a quiet laugh. "Rick and I are takin' a group out. He wants to know if you're good to help Beth with the kids? Maggie will be tendin' to the crops, so Beth needs the help."

"Yeah. The kids actually like me, so it's no big deal."

Daryl nods before gesturing to Judith. "She givin' Beth problems?"

"Nah." Alicia lays back down, getting comfortable after stretching. "I could tell Beth was ready to drop last night and Judith was wide awake. I brought her in here to play and she fell asleep."

"Alright." Daryl then pushes himself off the doorway. "Still got 'bout an hour of dark. Get some sleep, kid."

"Mhm. Bring me back something fun, Dixon."

"We'll see."

Alicia grins at his mumbled reply, her body relaxing once more the second the cell block goes quiet. If she was on babysitting duty with Beth today, she was gonna need all the rest she could get.

.xXx.

Around mid-day all Alicia wants is a cold shower. She and Beth have been taking turns keeping all the older kids occupied, and keeping them occupied meant running them ragged outside underneath the overbearing sun. It sounds cruel, but getting them tired early on meant they had an early bedtime which the other adults greatly appreciated. And she still got a bit of a reprieve when she would have Judith since the toddler was still too young to be under the sun for long, but the work was tiresome nonetheless.

"Hey, Alicia," Beth grins as she approaches with a dozing Judith on her hip. "Rick's called a Council meeting in the enclosed courtyard. We have a new recruit."

"Oh, thank god," she groans in response. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Alicia flashes Beth a tired smile. "Good luck with the little rascals. We were playing hide-n-seek, but I was being lazy in the seeking part."

"I can tell," Beth chuckles. "Carol's made them a snack, so I'll be taking them in to wash up. Maggie's showing the new girl to the showers so she'll be comfortable when you guys give her the run down of how everything works around here."

"Alright. See you later, Beth."

The blonde girl nods in response, she then walking back the way she'd come. Alicia takes off towards the courtyard, wondering who it is the group had brought back. It was rare that they brought anyone back, what with Rick and Daryl being cautious of who they let in because of all the women and children that had drifted over from the other community nearby. Alicia herself had been one of the lucky ones, her state of mind not too far gone like others they'd run into.