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Forever Rising Phoenix	By : ImagineLayla131 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 7147 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH THE WALKING DEAD FRANCHISE. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY FRANK DARABONT, AMC, ROBERT KIRKMAN AND TONY MOORE. NO MONEY/PROFIT IS BEING MADE OFF OF THIS FANFICTION!

Chapter List
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Hello world and my wonderful readers! Here's a little chapter for your fancy, the next one will be longer and most likely will be posted this weekend :) I had to add the miscellaneous prison residents as filler, background people more or less.
Thanks again to Hey01g, SilverSun09, RebornRose1992, and Znon, you guys are the best! :) Check out Hey01g's two awesome Walking Dead stories!
I haven't been going through the easiest of times lately, these reviews have given me such a warm happiness and a boost for my recently deflated confidence/self esteem. The more reviews I get, the quicker I update, but you all know I'd update regardless! I'm overjoyed and inspired to write! If anybody has any suggestions, feel free to send me a private message, I'd love to hear them! Enjoy! :)
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH THE WALKING DEAD FRANCHISE. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY FRANK DARABONT AND AMC (TELEVISION SERIES), ROBERT KIRKMAN AND TONY MOORE (COMIC BOOK SERIES), RESPECTIVELY. I ONLY OWN MY OWN ORIGINAL IDEAS AND CHARACTERS.
Chapter Twenty Six: United NOT Divided
Delilah looked over at Rick and smiled. "You've got yourself a great boy there, Grimes."
Rick chuckled. "He may be a little rough around the edges, but he's a good'em."
She grabbed his hand, her smile widening so much that it accentuated her already deep dimples. "Exactly like his dad."
THREE HOURS LATER
After breakfast and when the children went upstairs for their lessons, Madison organized all the adults into the main meeting room, at Delilah's insistence. The events from the night before needed to be discussed, it wasn't fair that some members had prior knowledge and not all of them, they had a right to know.
Rick looked over at Delilah as they stood outside the door, everybody was already waiting for them inside. She looked beautiful in an opened black and orange Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants baseball jersey, black ribbed tank top and black yoga pants, with matching blackish grey and red Nike Shocks, along with light makeup and her light golden brown hair swept up in a sleek ponytail, but he could sense her apprehension. He thought what she was about to do was incredibly brave, most rape/attempted rape victims would have been scared out of their wits to report it, let alone tell anybody, from what he remembered from his days on the force. "You ready?"
She looked up from the floor, his honest gaze calming her down and validating that this was the right thing to be done. "Yes, I am." Delilah was about to put her hand on the door handle when he stopped her, their eyes once again meeting.
"Hey. Don't worry about it, nobody will get mad. I love you and I stand by your side always."
They exchanged a smile, making Delilah's heart swell from all the love and happiness he gave her. She wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug. "I love you, too, Rick. Thank you." For a moment, Delilah forgot about everything with the softness of his arms wrapped around her and the scent of the Calvin Klein cologne he wore, but reality needed to be faced, and she let go. He laced his fingers through hers and opened the door, walking through hand in hand.
Delilah took in all the faces. Madison, Javier, Matt, Brandi, Ivan, Caitlin, Mark, Caroline, Vince, Maggie, Glenn, Michonne, Tyreese, Sasha, Bob, Tara, and Beth were all sitting down around the extra long table, while the rest of the prison group stood in the back, watching Rick and Delilah, Daryl and Mac were the only ones missing. Everybody's eyes went from looking at their intertwined hands to their facial expressions. Rick's nose were still a bit swollen, Delilah had managed to cover up the bruising on the side of her face from where Tyler kicked her, but she still had a busted lip. The tone of the room was definitely somber and inquiring, not knowing what was going to occur, which made Delilah self conscious and immediately looked down at her shoes. Madison, Glenn, Maggie, Tyreese, and Michonne were all sitting in the chairs at the front of the table as Rick sat down next to Glenn. He looked up at Delilah, who was still taking it all in. "Whenever you're ready, Tiny Dancer." He saw her smile and give his hand an affectionate squeeze.
"I'm ready, Street Fighting Man." Delilah let his hand go and sat down at the head of the table. She was unsure what the outcome would be, but this had to be done. "Thank you for coming, everybody. How are you doing today, Tara and Beth?"
The two girls seemed confused that they were being called out first, but appreciated the concern.
"Good." Tara said.
"Fine." Beth added.
They both nodded their heads and Delilah shot them a wan smile. "Great, I'm glad. The reason I called this meeting is because something very serious happened last night. While a few of you have already been clued in, I felt like it was imperative that everybody know." She laid her palms flat on the table, looking at both sides. Madison was to her left, Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Tyreese, and Michonne were to her right. They all gave her sympathetic looks with understanding eyes. Delilah was always very selective about which people she let in on her private life and her past, but this time, it wasn't all about her.
You're the leader, it all revolves around you and what you can do to protect them. If you keep mum about it, you're doing a horrible injustice not only to the group, but to yourself.
She felt a little like Queen Amadala addressing her council, but forced herself to swallow the nerves. Delilah took a deep breath, changing her facial expression from one of worry to one of assertiveness. "As the rest of you have probably noticed, Tyler isn't here. I found out last night that he assaulted Judith a couple weeks ago. When I told him he had to leave, he attacked and attempted to rape me. He's been officially banished from Jellbany."
A few gasps could be heard around the room, Javier slapped his hand over his mouth and ran over, hugging her tightly. Beth looked at Delilah, putting the pieces together that this was the reason why she was crying last night, and felt terrible. Why would somebody do such a terrible thing to such a sweet person? "How? Why?"
Delilah was a little taken aback that Beth of all people would ask that question, because she was unsure if Beth liked her or not, but she didn't mind. Plus, the follow up questions were inevitable. She straightened in her chair as Javier returned to his seat. "Tyler couldn't accept that I was Rick instead of him, his actions exhibited that of a sociopath. Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie handled the situation and escorted him out. Michonne and Tyreese stood guard last night and made sure he wasn't on the premises. Thank you all for your efforts." They nodded at her. She decided that as far as what Tyler knew about Rick and Delilah, that what she said summed it up and sufficed, they didn't need to know the rest of the invasive details.
"How do you know he won't come back?" Brandi asked, clearly annoyed. It was typical of her to throw the first dig.
"He knows the address, whose to say he won't bring some other group here and try to bombard the place?" Vince joined in.
"How could you let somebody like that in here?" Mark inquired.
"We should have known we couldn't trust a child to protect us." One of the prison resident said. Delilah was about to respond when another prison resident spoke up.
"It's your fault, you lead him on." This statement caused the heads of the table to look over. Delilah was shocked, she hadn't been prepared for that.
"What?" Rick grumbled, feeling his blood run hot and anger course through his veins. How could somebody say something so insensitive? Before he could speak further, Michonne jumped in, glaring down the resident with threatening dark eyes.
"You gotta lot of nerve, you saying she had it coming?"
"Kind of, I mean he was in love with her." Another one of the prison residents added.
"She told him more than once to leave her the hell alone, in front of all of us, even I told him to back off. He's obviously got a screw loose, don't be such a fucking asshole to her." Glenn retorted, feeling Rick's same anger.
"Excuse me?!"
Before Delilah knew it, most of the people in the room began to stand up, arguing and shouting questions. Tyreese and Maggie tried to calm them down, but it only got worse, and then Madison got involved, making everything louder. Delilah had braced herself for their reactions, but didn't think it would escalate to this level. She looked at Rick, feeling totally helpless, and he tried to stop it as well, but he was too busy yelling back. This was all reminding her of the endless screaming matches her parents would get into when she was little that could be heard throughout the entire house, it was an abusive lullaby. Delilah felt her hands trembling, dying to revert to old instincts and cover her ears. What stopped her was the need to be heard, the events from last night swirled in her head, and the anger began to bubble. Delilah stood up and slapped her palms flat on the table.
"ENOUGH!"
Everybody stopped talking and looked at Delilah, seeing the fury on her face. Once she saw their shock at her sudden anger, she felt herself loosen up, a twinge of guilt hitting her along with the burning sensation in her palms, which made her facial expression soften. "I'm sorry, but everybody needs to calm down, getting up in arms won't help anything. Now, can we all sit down, please? No more arguing and all questions will be answered."
They all took their seats and once again looked at their leader.
"I don't want pity, nor do I need it. Up to this point, I've been perfectly capable of protecting all of you. Ten year old heirs were appointed to the emperor throne during the Ming Dynasty, and that's ruling and protecting an entire country, not fifty or more people. Age doesn't matter at all, I want you to listen." She sat down, composing herself in her chair at the head of the table.
"Tyler was beaten pretty badly, we don't have to worry about him coming back. If I had had prior knowledge of what happened, he would have been gone a long time ago, no questions asked. I know that you're all concerned, but we're going to get through this and get through it together. Starting today, everybody will be taking turns at guard shifts in sets of two, we'll work out the times and pairs later on. Even though I have only been informed about Judith, I'd like to gather the children together one by one and question them about Tyler, just for safe keeping. This should include the teens as well with the exception of Carl, who has already been asked. I've arranged for a group target practice today, Mac is out rounding up the cadavers as we speak, he should be back within the hour. Last, but not least, I'll be addressing a concern that was brought to my attention by Rick upon his and Carl's arrival: We don't have a gate. I know we have the driveway alarms and motion detectors, but after last night, it's not enough. Even though I'm feeling confident that Tyler won't return, there really is no guarantee from him or other possible intruders." She took a deep breath and glanced over at Tyreese and Ivan. "Guys, I'll be sending you on a run for supplies tomorrow. Ivan, I know you used to design trucks, but sketching a gate should be easy. Rick, Glenn, and Ty will oversee everything due to their prior knowledge acquired from the gate built at the prison. I want you all to make a collaborative effort on this, team work is of the essence."
Delilah looked around the room, the vibe was once again mystified, and she was sensing the doubt. "Before all this happened, everybody here has known me that I am honest, trustworthy, and true to my word. Whether it be people that have known me for over a year like Javier and Ivan or that have known me for less than a day like Beth and Tara. I have never steered anybody wrong and my intentions are straight from the heart. Like I said, all possible measures will be done to preclude another incident like this from ever occurring again. I know some of you are uncertain about your feelings, but if we want to come out victorious, we have to stick together. We are family and we have to protect one another. Families fight and disagree, but at the end of the day, it's the love and care that matters. Will you continue to put your faith in me and be part of the family we've formed? For each other." She once again rose from the air and held her arm out, waiting for them to all to join in. Just like the day he arrived, Rick was the first one to place his hand on top of hers. He turned around, looking at the group. "She's right, it's just a bump in the road, let's not get completely sidetracked. For my sweetheart." He didn't care if they thought he was only defending her because she was his girlfriend, he was defending her because it was the right and honorable thing to do.
Madison followed up, placing her hand on top of Rick's and looking at the group. "First off, everybody here snapping at Delilah should be ashamed of themselves. She almost gets raped and you yell at her? What kind of people are you? If it weren't for her, who knows where any of us would be? Not here, that's what I can say." She made eye contact with Delilah. "Delilah, you are a pioneer. Fuck what they say, there are people here that are behind whatever decision you made. For my pioneering best friend." Madison glanced over around the table. "Let's be honest here, it's not like Tyler was a joy to have around. He was erratic and crazy, we all wanted him out of here. The way it happened was all wrong, but he's gone and we're moving forward. Anybody who has a problem with that can also get the fuck out, don't let the door hit you on the ass."
They all looked at each other, deep in thought over Madison's unexpected speech. Delilah was right, they had to stick together, because that's what families are supposed to do. The room was silent, absorbing her words. Something terrifying had take place amongst them, and even though the initial threat was gone, they knew there would most likely be others out there. Javier stepped forward, adding his hand in. "For my straight wife." His declaration made the people within earshot crack a smile.
"For my dancing queen." Matt added his hand in, Ivan made his way around the table and placed his hand on top of his.
"For my innovator." followed by Glenn.
"For my sister." Maggie was next.
"For my partner in crime." Michonne went after her.
"For my other half of the lethal duo." Tyreese tagged on.
"For my ass kicking ninja." Tara followed.
"For my leader." Beth was next, although reluctant, she put her hand in anyway.
"For my believer." Sasha stepped up.
"For my unique ray of sunshine." Bob was the last of the group to add on.
"For my superhero."
Delilah's heart once again was filled with love over their words and smiling faces. She looked down, noticing how their hands on top of each other and extended arms had formed a sun. It all reminded her of the "Oh Captain! My Captain!" bit in Dead Poets Society, one of her favorite movies, and she could already hear an uplifting musical score of sorts in her head.
The combined speeches were enough to get everybody on the right page. Without saying anything, one by one, the rest of them stepped forward and placed their hands together. They were setting out to prove that they were strong united, not divided.
AWW, WHAT A TOUCHING ENDING! POOR DELILAH, SHE DOESN'T SEEM TO GET ANGRY THAT OFTEN! REGARDLESS, SHE'S STILL LOVED. AGAIN, CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN WILL BE A LONGER CHAPTER, AS WELL AS BEING THE LAST CHAPTER BEFORE ANOTHER LEAP IN THE STORY WHEN ALL THE ACTION HAPPENS! *SQUEALS* SO EXCITED! I ALREADY KNOW WHAT'S GOING DOWN, AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO FIND OUT ALSO! :D
BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE STORY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW AND SPREAD THE WORD! NO FLAMES!
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Forever Rising Phoenix