The sentence almost scared the teenagers just as much as when they thought they would be going up against Dory herself. Micheal looked up to Dory with a proud smile on his face as she looked at the faces of the teenagers huddled together. "Alright! Who's first?" Dory asked with a grin watching as Alexis stepped forward. "Very good." the woman said, nodding her head in approval.

The teenagers all formed a circle around the male and female, while Dory stood in front with her arms crossed over her chest. Micheal bent his knees slightly, his hands in loose fists, Alexis copying his actions as well. They were looking at each other in the eye, never once letting their eyes stay to those who surrounded them. "Begin." Dory called making the twoo start to walk in a circle slowly. Micheal knew that Alexis was good at defending if her attacker was coming towards her torso, but she lacked when it came to defending her legs. Knowing this gave him an advantage, but not one he wanted to use yet.

Alexis knew a lot of Micheal weak spots too, but she never used them in hand to hand combat before. Alexis was the first to swing, her first jabbing towards Micheal's torso to which he blocked swiftly. The two went on for quite some time, blocking blows and never wanting to hurt each other - up until Alexis swung, catching Micheal off guard and leaving a cut on his cheek from the ring on her finger.

Finally, Micheal kicked his leg towards Alexis' making her fall to the ground, getting the wind knocked out of her. "Time!" Dory called. Micheal reached down to help Alexis up, who was laying on the ground facing the blue sky above them. Alexis accepted the helping hand and let him assist her up.

"Well done. Now, who thinks they can one up it?" Dory asked, looking towards the crowd of teenagers. She felt a sense of pride for the two that have been training non stop for the past few months. Everyone looked between each other, not a single one wanting to stand up to the challenge that was being dared upon them. "Alright, Celestial you're up." Dory called a younger girl in her early teenage years to step up.

"No, no it's okay. I will." Her older brother Castor said, pushing his younger sister behind him slightly and walking up to Micheal. Micheal and Castor were friends, but in the world they lived in now friends were few and far between. It wasn't that they didn't like each other or enjoy the time they spent talking about the way the world once was - it was that there was no one else their age to talk to. "Okay, good." Dory encouraged with a small smile.

"Begin."

Training went on until the sun was setting behind the horizon, and parents were calling their tired children inside to clean up and eat dinner. "Okay you two, go get cleaned up and meet me at my trailer. I'm making dinner tonight. Micheal, make sure you invite your aunt." Dory told the two teenagers, Alexis and Micheal both nodded before the girl ran off to the Barrington house where her bedroom was. Dory looked to Micheal and patted him on the back, a proud grin on her face. "You did amazing today kid." she praised, giving him a quick hug before pulling back and covering her nose in a joking manner. "Now go shower, you stink." she said, making the boy laugh and nod his head.

"I'll set the table tonight." he said, making Dory nod her head. "You always do it the best." she said softly, before the boy ran off to the trailer he shared with his aunt so he could shower and get ready for dinner.

Dory sighed, letting her shoulders hunch forward slightly before she started walking back to her trailer to get in the shower herself. Kicking the door open with her foot she was greeted with the sight of Jesus sitting in her arm chair reading a book off of the shelf where it had been collecting dust. Although she liked to read many years ago, it had been a long time since she had the time to sit down and open one.

"What are you doing here little lamb?" Negan greeted walking into the room that Dory was in, with a book on her lap and a lamp illuminating the small space. "Just reading." Dory mumbled, not looking up from the worn out pages. Negan walked forward and settled onto the arm of the chair, looking over the woman's shoulder to catch a glimpse of what she was reading. "You know, I can't stay here forever." Dory whispered.

"Hey, what are you reading?" Dory asked, closing the door to the trailer behind her as she walked in. "Just something that was on the shelf over there." The man replied, motioning his head in the direction of the dusty shelf that he had found the book. "Any good?" she asked, making him look up at her and smirk. "Not really no." he admitted, making her chuckle and make her way to the bathroom. "I'm just going to have a quick shower, Micheal and his aunt are coming for dinner, Alexis should be here soon too." Dory told him, making the man nod his head and silently sigh to himself.

There would always be other nights to say what he needed to say.

It wasn't long until Micheal and his aunt showed up at the trailer, Alexis following behind shortly after. As Dory was outside cooking on the barbecue and going back inside to the little kitchenette periodically to check on things. "Micheal, is the table set?" Dory called from outside. "Yep! All good to go!" Micheal called back.

"Soups on in five!" Dory called back into the trailer. Her gaze falling upon the colours of the setting sun. Shaking her head, she walked into the trailer with a plate full of grilled chicken, and the hopes of having a family dinner with the people that felt like home.