Summary: Set in S3 “Ain’t A Judas.” A hurt Andrea shows up. Will she be okay? Will she be welcomed back?
“Something weird’s going on out there,” Maggie’s sister told Maggie, and then gave Maggie the binoculars.
Maggie took a look and then lowered the binoculars after a minute. She looked at her sister and said, “Andrea.”
“I’ll get Ric,” her sister, Beth, replied before she left.
Maggie raised the binoculars after a few minutes for another look. Sure enough, it was Andrea. She had a walker with her, apparently to keep the other walkers away from her, and she looked hurt. She had a bag slung over her shoulders. A hand was wrapped around her and she was limping. She looked like she had been alone out there for days; though she thought she was with the Governor in Woodbury. When had Andrea left? Why had she left?
Maggie stopped watching and went inside to join the others.
As Andrea arrived at the gate, she felt weak and light-headed. She was hurt and felt like she was going to black out. She tried to fight it though, because she was surrounded by walkers. If she became vulnerable before her friends came to her rescue, she would be gone forever. And she didn’t want that. She wanted to live through everything she could.
She was relieved when she saw Ric, Carl, Maggie, and Daryl coming. And that’s when she started to see spots.
“Are you alone!?” she heard Ric ask, as he ran forwards, gun in hand.
“Yes!” she answered as loud as she could.
Carl unlocked the gate and opened it. And as walkers started towards the opened gate, Daryl and Maggie shot them down. As they kept shooting walkers down, Ric came to her aid with an arm around her, as she blacked out.
Ric caught her as she collapsed, and then picked her up in his arms. And as he cleared the gate, Carl locked it and they headed back towards the prison.
As they entered the prison, they were met with surprised and astonished faces.
“What’s she doing here?” Glenn had to ask.
“The questions can wait until she feels up to it,” Hershel interceded.
“She’s alone. That’s all we know for sure,” Ric replied.
“If you ask me, she ran away from Woodbury,” Merle said from a corner.
“And she’s hurt,” Maggie added, as if Merle hadn’t spoken.
Michonne stood in the background and silently watched.
Ric headed upstairs towards an unused prison room and layed her gently down on the bed, before he silently vacated the room. Then he went back to where the remainder of the group was at.
Meanwhile, Hershel sat on her bedside to check on her and see what he could do for her.
Carol stood in the doorway as she watched with Asskicker in her arms.
“Is she going to be okay?” she asked with concern.
Hershel looked at her.
“She needs food. If we can get her that, she’ll be okay. And water.”
“I’ll tell the others and see what they say.”
He watched as she left.
As Carol entered the room, they were arguing.
“If she came alone, why now? Last I heard, she was in love with the Governor,” Glenn said.
“I don’t know, but she was telling the truth. She wasn’t in any state to lie to us. And she still isn’t,” Ric replied.
“But if Woodbury is taking care of everyone there, why run away back to this?” Maggie said.
“Maybe the Governor did something or she had a change of heart,” Merle suggested.
“But why now?” Beth asked.
“I don’t have the answers right now,” Ric replied.
“Whatever the reason, she’s here now. That’s all that matters,” Daryl said.
“Daryl’s right. We can ask later. Right now, she needs our help. Some of us need to go on a run. We’re almost out of weaponry and we all need food. She needs food and water if she’s going to make it,” Carol informed them.
“Merle and I can go,” Daryl announced.
Andrea didn’t know how long she had been out, but when she awoke, she was in a prison room on a bed with Maggie seated on her bedside. She no longer felt hurt, light-headed, or weak. She felt better.
“Hey,” Andrea greeted.
“Hey,” Maggie greeted back. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
“Good. You can thank my father and Carol.”
“I’ll thank them when I get a chance.”
“What happened?”
“I left as soon as I heard about the attack. Some of them tried to stop me, but I left anyway. The Governor said you guys shot at them first, but I know you guys. You wouldn’t do that.”
“We thought you were dead after you saved Carol,” Maggie informed her.
Merle leaned in the doorway.
“Well, well, look who’s finally awake.”
“What’s he doing here? He’s the one that-,” Andrea started.
Maggie interrupted her.
“We didn’t have a choice. We had to let him in, or Daryl would leave for good.”
Andrea looked at him.
“How long?”
“A few days,” he replied.
“How long is a few days?”
“Three days,” he clarified.
Andrea slowly sat up in bed.
“Everyone probably has questions that I need to answer.”
Maggie got to her feet.
Andrea used one of the bed posts to help get to her own feet.
Merle took her arm to help her.
Once she was seated at the table, everyone started in on her.
“Why are you here, Andrea?” Ric asked, once he had silenced the others. It seemed to her that it was all he could to do to stay calm and not lash out in any way.
“I left to come back. Now that I know where you are at. I can’t go back, anyway. The Governor said to stay here if I came here. So I’m here for good. Where are the others?” she said.
“Dead,” Daryl said.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Shane tried to kill Ric, so Ric killed him. T-Dog gave up his life for mine when we got overrun by walkers. Lori died during the sea section and Carl had to shoot her so she wouldn’t turn,” Carol summarized.
“Oh, Ric. I’m sorry,” Andrea sympathized. “Carl,” she added.
Ric looked down and both father and son were silent. And that’s when it made sense to her. Ric was grieving and trying to hold it in, but having trouble. That’s why he looked like he was trying not to lash out. And that’s when she knew she couldn’t get separated from them ever again, because they needed her now more than ever; just like they needed one another.
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