Chapter 16: Forgotten Friends

Ryder couldn't believe who was standing right in front of her. "Victoria?"

The brunette standing behind Daryl and Rick wasn't moving. She was staring at Ryder in amazement just like Ryder.

Daryl and Rick stepped aside moving out of the way of the two women.

Before anyone knew it, Victoria screamed and took off making a bee line to the blonde. She tackled her to the ground in a hug.

Daryl and Rick looked at each other confused. They could hear her crying and saying stuff to Ryder but they couldn't make out what she was saying from where they were standing.

Ryder had hit the ground harder than she wanted. Victoria was sobbing on her shoulder. The blonde finally was able to get her hands up and pushed the other woman off. She stood up rubbing her elbow that had hit the pavement when she fell. The brunette got up and wiped her face where the tears were falling. She had a huge smile on her face.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Stop crying."

"How could you say that to me? I thought you were dead!" Victoria grabbed onto Ryder again.

Ryder stood still not hugging her back since the other woman had her arms trapped at her sides. After a minute she shook the other woman off. "V. Stop hugging me. I should be more shocked you're alive."

The brunette pouted with her arms crossed. "That isn't fair. Just because you were in the Army and I wasn't doesn't mean I'm completely helpless."

Rick and Daryl decided to walk over to the two women. Rick looked between the two of them but didn't say anything.

Ryder watched both of them. "Rick, Daryl this is Victoria. She's an old friend…"

Victoria cut Ryder off before she could continue. "Excuse me." The brunette threw her arm over Ryder's shoulder. She needed to reach up a little higher since Ryder was taller than her. "We have been best friends since birth pretty much. I wouldn't even use best friends. We're sisters." Victoria sported a huge bright smile.

Ryder rolled her eyes and shook the other woman's arm off her. She couldn't help but let out a small smile. It had been a long time since she had seen V. She didn't want to think about her being dead but she always forced herself to expect the worse.

Rick nodded his head in understanding.

Before he could say anything, Victoria cut him off. "Oooh, J you have been traveling with these hotties?" Victoria walked around behind them and then came around to the front unabashedly checking both of them out.

Ryder could tell her friend was making both of them feel awkward. She had that affect on people. She was very bubbly and very direct. They were completely opposite of each other but somehow, they stayed best friends throughout everything that was thrown at them. "Come on, V. Knock it off. You're making them uncomfortable."

The brunette just smiled knowing what she was doing. Finally, Victoria's smile faltered. She looked at Ryder seeing all the weapons on her. "Where were you going?"

Daryl watched Ryder. He still didn't want the other woman to go but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He wasn't so sure about her friend though. She seemed annoying and overly happy. He didn't understand how they could be friends. Ryder was nothing like the other woman. "She was leavin'."

Victoria looked at the hunter. "Sexy accent too." She nudged the blonde. "You need to keep him before someone else grabs him." She winked at the hunter who now was sporting a tinge of red on his cheeks.

Ryder rolled her eyes again. She glanced back at Daryl then back at Victoria. "Knock it off."

Victoria changed the subject. "Why are you leaving?"

The blonde was going to explain but she looked behind her seeing Deanna walking to the gate. "Ask her." She pointed to the older woman.

The brunette turned and waited for Deanna to come up to the group that was now forming around them.

"What's going on here?" Deanna asked.

Victoria turned facing their leader. "Why is she leaving?"

Deanna looked at Ryder waiting to see if she was going to say something. When she knew that Ryder wasn't going to talk she looked back at Victoria. "She doesn't belong here. She isn't one of us."

Ryder stepped back away from her friend. She wasn't like Ryder with her explosive temper but she was very loyal to her friends. If something happened to one of them and she could do something about it then she was going to do anything in her power to get her way.

"What do you mean she doesn't fit in here? You're allowing the rest of her group to stay but she can't?" Victoria crossed her arms.

"She is better suited living out there." Deanna pointed beyond the gate. "Living like this..." She motioned to the rest of the community. "…isn't something that she wants. You should know that if she's your friend."

"She is my friend. I know her. We need her here. I'm not sure about the rest of the group but if they are good enough to be let in then she is too."

Deanna didn't say anything. She stared at the other woman trying to figure out what she wanted. "You knew her. When was the last time you saw her?"

Victoria faltered a bit. "It's been a few years." She turned and watched Ryder for a second. The blonde still didn't say anything. She didn't need to. She knew that Victoria was going to say everything that she needed. "I don't need to be around her every day to know her. She deserves to be here as much as anyone."

The older woman was going to interject again but someone else came up to the group.

A tall man about the same age as Ryder and Victoria walked up to the group that was talking. He didn't take his eyes off Ryder who was standing off to the side.

The blonde was rubbing her temples. She hated when other people argued over her. It was pointless. Deanna wasn't going to let her stay. Ryder looked up and stopped what she was doing. She didn't take her eyes off the man approaching them. How could she have forgotten that he was married to Victoria? She didn't even think to ask the brunette if he was here. Ryder walked forward standing about five feet in front of him.

The other man stood up straight with his hands pointed at his sides. Ryder matched him. He brought his right hand up into a salute. "Sergeant."

Ryder brought her right hand up saluting the man in front of him. "Corporal."

She dismissed him and they both relaxed their posture. The group that had been talking stopped. They didn't know exactly what was happening. Victoria was the only one smiling. She knew exactly what was happening between the two.

Ryder didn't move from her spot. "It's been a long time."

The other man just nodded. "Yes, it has." He couldn't hold the stoic face anymore. He gave up, grabbing the blonde and capturing her in a hug. This time Ryder didn't stop it. She embraced him fully unlike she did with Victoria.

They took a minute to just stand there. She pulled away from him. "Damn, Justin. I'm so damn happy to see you alive."

Justin smiled at the other woman. "I would say the same thing sarg but you're invincible."

Ryder laughed and rolled her eyes. "I wish." She paused. "Justin you don't have to call me sarg anymore. You haven't had to call me that in a long time."

The other man just shrugged, smiling. "I like using it. It fits, don't you think? Sarg."

Ryder watched Justin but she dismissed him with a wave. "Whatever."

Deanna had finally had enough of reunions. "What the hell is going on here?"

The blonde looked at Justin. Justin looked at Victoria. Victoria looked back at Ryder. The blonde sighed. "Fine. All three of us grew up together. We lived together in a cul-de-sac when we were younger and went to the same schools." She looked at her two friends. She was missing someone but he had been missing for a long time. She didn't need to include him in her explanation. He was only important to the three friends anymore. "Justin and I went into the Army together and V went to school to be a doctor. You guys probably knew that already though. I was Justin's superior before I was sent to Fort Benning in Georgia."

Justin looked at Ryder noticing she had all her weapons like Victoria had. "Where are you going?"

Ryder sighed looking over at her friend. "I'm not welcome here. I don't belong in civilian life."

"That's bullshit." Justin took a harsher tone than Victoria originally had. He looked over at Deanna. "If you let her go through that gate you will be making a big mistake."

The older woman didn't back down from the other man. "Why's that?"

"Because she was the best damn soldier that the Ranger's had when we were deployed."

Ryder wanted to disagree with him but she wasn't going to interrupt. She had been having this conversation with him ever since they joined the Rangers. He thought she was a hero that deserved to be put on the highest pedestal possible but she didn't think the same thing.

"That was when you two were deployed. We aren't at war anymore."

Justin looked around. "Are we seeing the same thing? Yes, we are. The war may be different than what we fought against in Iraq but it's still a war. She is the best trained out of anyone here. She's the toughest and is going to act the quickest if something happens."

Ryder continued to stay silent even though she wanted Justin to stop praising her. Their group had been standing in the road long enough to grab the attention of most people who were wondering around in the afternoon. She didn't need the other people to hear everything he was saying about her.

"She was one of the only people I whole-heartedly trusted to have my back when we were in Iraq. That hasn't changed even though there are dead people walking around beyond these barriers instead of insurgents with assault rifles."

Deanna held up her hand stopping his rant. She walked over to the blonde. "You can stay… but if you cause too many problems I will exile you."

Ryder stared at the other woman. She didn't like the leader. It could have been because their leader didn't like her or maybe it was because she was too naïve about the world around them. "Fine." Ryder would agree so she could be with her group. She no longer wanted to part with them. She didn't want to be stuck in the cage around her but she would just leave the fence whenever she got too restless.

The blonde grabbed the strap of her crossbow staring at the other woman. She may be their leader but she wasn't going to back down. It wasn't in her nature. She turned away from the gate and walked through the group that had formed. They parted letting her go through. Victoria grabbed hold of Justin's hand. The couple followed after their friend. Daryl and Rick began walking after the couple. They were all making their way to the house that the new group had been camping out in for the afternoon.

Daryl watched as they made their way to the house. His eyes weren't leaving Ryder's back. She was different. Well, maybe she wasn't different but the people around her didn't seem like the people that she would associate with normally. He didn't have much room to talk though. He had gotten to know her after the world fell. These people knew her before when everything was normal. Victoria had been her friend forever and Justin had served with her.

The hunter shoved his hands in his pockets. He could see the bouncing brunette hair of her friend. She was so bubbly and she was annoying compared to the cool and calculating blonde that he had gotten to know. He didn't understand how two people so opposite of each other could be so close.

Ryder stepped onto the porch. She walked into the house slamming the door open. She walked into the kitchen and stopped seeing Carol busying herself. "What the hell happened to you?"

Carol smiled sweetly. She grabbed the edges of her new cardigan. "My new job." Ryder looked at her confused. The older woman stopped smiling. "I'm making food for people who can't and the elderly." Ryder slowly nodded her head. She understood but she wasn't understanding at the same time. "This way I get to meet a lot of the neighbors."

Before Ryder could continue, the rest of the people following her came in through the front door. The blonde turned around and jumped up onto the counter sitting. Carol walked around the corner handing the younger woman an apple. "I haven't saw you eat anything since we got here. Eat."

Ryder grabbed the apple taking a bite out of it. "Yes, mother."

Carol smacked her in the shoulder walking around back into the kitchen continuing what she had been doing before Ryder interrupted her. Justin and Victoria walked in sitting on the bar stools. Rick and Daryl leaned against the wall and doorway of the kitchen.

Justin crossed his arms. "Sarg. I know you won't like it but you're going to have to hand your weapons over to the locker. We don't carry inside the walls but you can check them out whenever you need."

Ryder looked at everyone around her. "You're serious?" She stopped on Justin.

All he could do was nod.

Ryder scoffed. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She jumped down from the counter taking another bite from her apple. "People stay behind these big god damned walls and they feel completely safe."

The blonde walked down to where she had noticed people handling guns when she had gone to get interrogated by Deanna. She entered the garage and a woman was standing there with thick black rimmed glasses. She pulled out her desert eagle and another revolver handing them over. The woman walked over and grabbed them hesitantly. "Be careful with that one." Ryder motioned to the desert eagle. "If anything happens to it I'll have your head." The blonde smiled but it was a sickeningly sweet smile, one that told the woman with glasses to watch it because she wasn't joking. Ryder took another bite of the apple while the other woman just gulped at her threat.

Ryder turned on her heels and left the garage. She kept eating her apple as she made her way back to the house. She had kept her knives and her crossbow because she wasn't going to walk around completely unarmed. She wasn't that stupid like everyone else in the town.

The blonde walked up onto the porch of the house where Daryl was sitting cleaning his crossbow. Ryder walked over and plopped down in one of the chairs that had been placed on the deck. She put her combat boots on the table looking over at Daryl who was sitting across from her on the deck railing. Ryder let out a sigh, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. Too many things had happened today, and she was beat.

Daryl watched the blonde relaxing in front of him. He wanted to ask her all the questions he had swirling around in his brain, but he didn't think she wanted to talk. When she was around he changed from what he was used to. It was like he wanted to talk to her. He didn't care about talking to anyone else or asking them questions. Ryder made him want to ask her questions. He wanted to know what she was thinking and her past before she met him.

The hunter paused with cleaning his crossbow. "Is it nice seein' your friends again?"

Ryder smiled but kept her eyes closed. "Yeah, I haven't seen them in a long time. It's comforting knowing they are still alive."

Daryl paused nodding his head. "How long have all of you been friends?"

"Honestly? For as long as I can remember. Justin and I joined the service together, but we had known each other before that." Ryder opened one eye watching the hunter in front of her. "Remember Matt? I told you about him that one night."

Daryl didn't have to say anything. He remembered everything she told him. He just simply nodded waiting for her to continue.

"He also joined with us. We were all friends when we were kids. I met V first. She was a smaller kid and she got picked on a lot for being smart. She was the daughter of doctors, so she was raised to be smart." Ryder smiled at the fond memory. "The other kids didn't like that, so they picked on her. I just happened to be playing in my yard one day and she was being picked on. I went over and beat up the boys who were picking on her. Then, she just kind of followed me around from there."

Daryl wasn't surprised with Ryder's story. He could see that she was the protective type. He didn't have to know that she was overly empathetic to a fault. He didn't need to know any of her backstory. She had done everything in her power to help their group before she was officially brought in. When Justin had talked about her being a hero he wasn't wrong. At the time, he had watched Ryder and the way that she reacted to the word hero made it painfully obvious she didn't agree. "What about Justin and Matt?"

"They came by a few years later. Matt went to the same school as us, but I never really talked to him. Justin moved to the area. He and Matt became friends first and then Justin had a crush on me." Ryder started to laugh a little. Not much and not too loud but she was laughing. "He would follow me around like a little puppy, but I had no interest in him."

The hunter cracked a small smile. He didn't know if he had ever heard the blonde laugh like she was now. She would smile and scoff and make noises that could be akin to a laugh but not full-blown laughing. He couldn't help but think that she had a beautiful laugh. He wanted her to laugh more often. He wanted to make her laugh more often. Daryl watched her face. She seemed relaxed and care-free thinking about the past in this moment. She wasn't worried about the group and she wasn't worried about walkers roaming around or when they would get their next meal. Nothing mattered except her story right now. "I like it."

Ryder paused her laughing. "The story?" She shrugged her shoulders about read to continue but she was cut off my Daryl.

The hunter was shaking his head. "Your laugh."

The blonde paused stunned. Did Daryl Dixon just give her a compliment? Was he being sweet right now? He had been a little bit when they were just alone, and he had admitted that he liked her. They had shared a couple kisses but that was it. Now he was outwardly giving her compliments. A small tinge of red spread across her face. She cleared her throat. "After a few more years Justin got over his little crush that he had on me and we were all just friends. In high school he asked out V and they have been together ever since."

Daryl just smirked and watched the flustered blonde in front of him. This whole thing was new to him. He wasn't used to being so bold with comments or actions. The strong woman in front of him made him like that. Obviously, he wouldn't outwardly be like that in front of people but when it was just the two of them together he didn't mind flustering the Ranger.

The two of them just sat in a comfortable silence after Daryl's comment. Ryder leaded back in her chair with her eyes closed thinking about the gruff hunter. She was seeing different sides of him that she didn't know existed and it made her happy that he allowed her to see it and no one else.

The two have been sitting there for a while. Neither of them knew exactly how long it had been. Ryder had her eyes closed but she could smell perfume. She inwardly rolled her eyes. "Stop staring at me." She heard the other woman laugh. The blonde opened her eyes looking over at the brunette who was staring at her. "A picture will last longer."

Victoria just smiled at her friend. "We haven't seen each other in so long and all you can do is be mean to me."

Ryder rolled her eyes. "You're too sensitive."

The brunette scoffed. "You're one to talk." She was going to say something else, but she stopped herself. Victoria glanced at Daryl for half a second but then returned to Ryder. She was awkward because she didn't know what the hunter knew and she didn't want to give away information about Ryder unwillingly.

"He knows. Don't worry about it."

Daryl squinted looking between the two women. He didn't say anything. He was content with just listening. This was a chance to see Ryder the way she was with her friends before the world died.

Victoria couldn't help the shock that crossed her face. "You told him about…?" She didn't continue because she didn't know if they were thinking about the same thing.

"Yes, V. I told him about being hyper-empathetic. You don't need to look so shocked." Ryder looked over at Daryl. She noticed that he was cleaning his crossbow. She sighed. It had been a while since she cleaned her bow. Since they were sitting here doing nothing she should make herself useful and actually clean hers too. The blonde sat up grabbing her bow and started disassembling it and cleaning the parts.

Victoria watched her best friend. "Has Deanna assigned you a job yet?"

"Nope." Ryder looked up from what she was going. "She doesn't even want me here. I doubt she would let me do anything." She looked at Daryl. "Has she given you anything to do yet?"

The hunter shook his head. "Nope."

Ryder nodded slowly, thinking. She looked back at her bow continuing to clean. "She may give me something she deems difficult so she can see me mess up. That way if I mess up too many times she will have a reason to exile me."

"She wouldn't do that."

Ryder paused looking at her friend like she was an idiot. "You're joking right? You were there. Justin was barely able to convince her to let me stay." She continued again. "He lied to Deanna just to get her to let me stay."

Victoria didn't respond to her right away. "You know that isn't true. Justin didn't lie about anything he said about you. You are an amaz…"

The blonde stopped what she was doing looking up at her friend sharply. "Don't."

The brunet kept watching Ryder. "Are you going to the party tonight?"

"Does it seem like I'm going to the party tonight?"

Victoria kept quiet. She just watched her friend ignore her. "You don't need to be so guarded. I'm still who I was before everything. So is Justin."

Ryder paused what she was doing. She kept staring at her bow not wanting to see the look on Victoria's face. "Well, I'm not."

Her friend wasn't going to back down. "You're just trying to push people away. You did this before too. You're my best friend and I'm not going to let you drift away from me… not when I just got you back." Victoria kept staring at her friend making sure she understood the meaning and felt the emotion behind her words. "You haven't changed. You only think you did."

Ryder had enough of listening to her friend. "You don't know me anymore." The blonde stood up slamming her hands on the table staring the brunette down, pissed. "I haven't been behind walls this entire time. I haven't been in the safety of houses and having people around. Unlike you I have been out there." Ryder pointed to the woods beyond the wall. "I have fought every day of my life being out there. You have no idea what I have had to go through and the things I have seen." The blonde pushed the chair out of her way turning and moving toward the stairs. Before she left she stopped at the edge. "Don't say I haven't changed if you don't know what I've been through."

Victoria watched her friend leave the porch. She looked over at Daryl trying to figure out if what just happened was real. He wasn't saying or doing anything. He just kept to himself cleaning his bow.

Ryder was walking down the street with her hands in her pockets. She had calmed down pretty quickly after her argument with Victoria. This wasn't the first argument they had and it wouldn't be the last. Sometimes the older woman just got on her nerves and she needed a break from her.

The blonde looked around at all the houses that surrounded her. Even before everything happened she would have never been able to live in these types of houses. This subdivision was a place for the wealthy and sane. Her family was everything except wealthy and sane. She sighed walking over to a bench swing watching the kids play on the playground the community had.

She had to hand it to them. This place was nice. If she was a different person. If she was someone who was married and had kids this place would have been perfect. But, she wasn't any of those things. Looking around she could see people milling about but these people weren't like her. Deanna had made that painfully obvious. She had always known she was different compared to her friends and people she acquainted with but she didn't see it until she was in a situation like this. This perfect little life, hidden away and safe wasn't the life for her.

Ryder lost track of how long she had been sitting on the bench watching everyone. She looked around finally taking notice around her. It wasn't completely dark but it was close. The shades of oranges, yellows, and reds were fading into dark purples and blacks. The blonde stood up from her seat she had occupied for hours and leisurely walked back to the houses that the group was sharing.

She walked in and everyone was on alert instantly. When the group noticed it was Ryder they stood down. Rick walked over to her. "Where have you been?"

Ryder just shrugged. "Out and about. Just walking around checking the place out."

The older man just nodded his head in understanding. He had wanted to do that too. He just hadn't had the time yet.

The blondes expression changed looking hard at Rick's face. "You clean up well." She smiled patting him on the shoulder walking behind him into the living room. She went over and say next to Daryl on the windowsill since their group took up a majority of the living room.

Rick just rolled his eyes smiling at the blonde woman. He had getting reactions from most of the group.

Ryder was picking at her nails when she felt a nudge to her elbow. She looked over catching Daryl watching her through his hair. "You okay?"

She just nodded her head. He must have been talking about her argument with Victoria since he had been there for the whole conversation. She lowered her voice so everyone else didn't hear her. "Yeah, that happens all the time. She pushes too much sometimes. I just need to get away from her every once and a while." Ryder smiled looking down at her hands again. "She means well."

Daryl watched the woman sitting next to her. She was all over the place. He couldn't read her at all. At times she gave him whiplash with her emotions. He was going to ask her something else but that was when the entire group heard a knock at the door.

Ryder looked up watching as Rick opened the door. She saw the Deanna was on the other side of the door. She rolled her eyes at the woman. She sure did have the whole politician acting down. When she talked to the rest of the group she was nice and sweet but when she talked to Ryder she couldn't hold back the hate. The blonde had been reading people for a long time. She could see the hate that the woman had for her for some unknown reason.

Rick and Deanna were talking about settling in and about how everyone had decided to sleep in the same house instead of splitting everyone up between the two houses they were given.

Ryder perked up when she heard Rick mention jobs. "I've heard that you have been giving my people jobs."

Deanna smiled sweetly. "Yes, that's part of what we do here." Ryder watched her look around to the group. She didn't miss that Deanna skipped over her. "I have one for you Rick. Just need to get some stuff squared away." The older woman looked over to Michonne who was standing behind Rick. "I have one for Michonne too." Her eyes scanned over the group landing on Sasha. "I'm in the process of placing Sasha too." Her fake sweet eyes landed on Daryl who was right next to Ryder. Still the woman refused to look at her. "I'm still trying to figure Mr. Dixon out." Deanna smiled at Rick. "I'll let you guys get some rest."

Daryl looked over at Ryder once Deanna left. That woman had it out for his friend and he didn't know why. By the looks of Ryder, she didn't know why the other woman disliked her too. It was obvious. When the community's leader was around anyone else either part of their group or not she was sweet. When it came to Ryder she either didn't acknowledge her or she said something mean to her. Daryl leaned over to the woman sitting next to her. "She assign you a job yet?"

Ryder kept watching the door even after the evil woman left. She was so confused as to why Deanna hated her so much. Sure, she wasn't the first person to hate her, but she was the first to hate her for no reason. "No, she hasn't. It doesn't seem like I'm getting one either."

(A/N) How many times can I say that I'm sorry. I've been working on this chapter forever and I had personal stuff happen right I started writing this chapter. I want to finish this story, so I can work on some other stuff. Just hang in there with me everyone! I promise that I won't let this story die.