Missing the Lone Soldier (Aubrey and Philip)

Aubrey had become very depressed when Michonne had decided to leave her and Andrea in Woodbury, not only was she depressed about that she was upset about some of the things that she had said about Philip she didn't think that any of them would be true, he was a good man and had only ever done good things for her and the people around her! Frustrated and upset she had saught comfort in the Starbucks coffee house with Andrea, who was much in the same position.

Sighing a little bit when the coffee house had kicked them out, both of them went their respective ways back to their houses, she had lived with Andrea and Michonne and did still have a room in that house in case anything happened with the relationship between her and Philip, but so far living in the same apartment had been nothing short of pleasant.

As she wondered if Philip would be in the apartment she wandered up to their door, took her key and opened the door, walking inside as if on automatic pilot. One of the things that she had gotten into the habit of now that she was in Woodbury, she didn't have to look around every corner for Walkers, so she could let her guard down and space out as she did certain things, as she walked about the town center.

Stepping up the stairs to reach the bedroom with Philip's study attached, Aubrey called out;

"Philip are you in?" she asked softly, yawning a little bit as she rubbed her eyes "I'm home!"

Of course she fully expected Philip to still be busy with setting up things for the party, but, she was just glad to be home, taking off her boots she whined unhappily as she lay on her tummy on the bed. Aubrey just didn't understand why Michonne would want to leave, she had friends here, Andrea more so than anyone, so why would she just up and leave? There had to be a good reason, not just that she didnt get on with Philip, the things she said must have some basis of being true for her to be so passionate about them, surely?

The Governor had gotten the news about Michonne's departure from Merle just about half an hour ago and his first reaction had been to ask how Aubrey was taking it. Merle had assured him that Aubrey was fine, that she was just talking to Andrea about it now. He sighed a little bit and sipped at the bottle of cola he was holding. He had wanted to try something stronger but decided against it in the end. He liked being sober far more than he liked being drunk.

When he heard the door open his hand immediately went to his gun on the table. It was no secret that Michonne had hated him for some reason. Honestly, she hadn't even gotten a hint as to some of his shadier dealings to protect Woodbury but she still hated him. He wouldn't put it past her to try and kill him. When he heard that it was just Aubrey he smiled faintly and put his gun away in the drawer of his desk. He picked out another bottle of cola,

"Yeah I'm in the study!" he called out to her as he popped the top on the new cola bottle, "Got a bottle of cola with your name on it."

Taking the cola in hand he wandered over to the bedroom that they had been sharing recently. As he entered he could see that she was troubled. He set both bottles down on the beside table and sat down on the bed next to her,

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her quietly, "I know Michonne was your friend after all."

Aubrey immediately was drawn to the Governor when he appeared in the bedroom, as soon as he sat down she wriggled closer to him so that she could rest her head in his lap, nuzzling it against his leg, she turned so that she was laying on her back and was looking up at him from where she was laying, she wanted to be able to look at him in the eyes and see his reaction to some of the things that she was going to ask now he had given her the chance.

Hearing that he knew that she was most likely upset by what had happened, Aubrey was glad to have the open chance to talk to him about it, instead of having to coax it out of him herself and possibly getting shut down many many times in the process.

"I wouldn't mind talking it through with you." she stated with a small smile on her lips, it wasn't anywhere near as bright as her normal one, but, she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't at least smiled in some way, it was just part of who she was "I am just so upset, I didn't think that she would really leave, Andrea is even more upset than I am, they were so close together...and she just left."

Sitting up from the Governors lap, she took up the bottle of cola and sipped at it, before she settled back down sitting on his knee, her head resting on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat against her ear. From what she had heard Michonne had always been like this, she had listened to her gut and it had lasted her this long...in some ways, Aubrey could understand that.

"I don't understand why she left...you didn't say anything mean to her did you? She didn't see anything that she might not like? Because...because she said some really mean things about you Philip, and I don't think theyre true but she wouldn't have left her friends for nothing, Andrea doesn't think so anyway and she knew her best of all."

The Governor smiled a little bit when Aubrey wiggled closer to him when he first sat down. She really did like to be comforted it seemed. When she rested her head in his lap he smiled as he looked down at her, running his fingers absently through her hair. She had once said that she found the action to be relaxing so he was more than willing to run his fingers through her soft, silky, hair. It even worked to calm him down a little bit he admitted to himself.

He could tell that she wanted to talk about it by the look on her face. She was also looking rather relieved, perhaps because he often tried to avoid subjects like this? Well this time he wasn't avoiding anything, she needed to talk about this to help her cope with it,

"I'll happily listen to everything that you have to say then my dear." he assured her with a small smile of his own. He was rather saddened by the fact that her smile was different, as if it had dimmed because of this. He nodded in understanding, "I honestly didn't think he'd go either... after all she has ties here with you and Andrea. You two are her best friends after all..."

Taking the chance to sip some of his own soda, he hugged her to him with one arm around her to keep her from falling off of his lap. Honestly he had no idea why Michonne had left. Because he gave her a bad feeling? What kind of basis was that? Apparently enough for her,

"I've not really spoken to her apart from her demanding that I let her carry her sword around with her at all times, despite the rules." he admitted before blinking a little bit and frowning slightly, "I don't recall her seeing anything too bad... maybe she saw some of the Walkers that Milton has been working with? It's easy to jump to conclusions but he's only trying to discover a cure... what else did she say about me?"

Aubrey was very unhappy to hear that she was going to have to learn to deal with the loss of Michonne she wouldn't be seeing her again after all, but in the few days she had known her she seemed to have been able to break down the thick walls of the woman and get to know her a little bit, she had opened up to her, and Michonne had done the same to Aubrey. Foolishly she thought that would override anything she had ideas about in Woodbury, that she would stay regardless, but no.

"Yes I thought we were pretty close even though we had only known each other a short while we had really gotten on well with each other...I feel so sad to have lost her because of her own choice, she didn't even want to say goodbye properly, she just...walked off." Aubrey stated with a little crack to her voice, she was really upset by the fact she hadn't said goodbye.

As she was hugged to Philip's chest, Aubrey sipped at her drink again to get rid of the lump in her throat, she couldn't talk very well when it came to it if she had a big froggy lump in her throat. Nuzzling her head against the crook of his neck, she was just so glad that he was giving her this comfort now, perhaps he too needed reassuring about this?

"Well..." Aubrey whispered softly, wondering if she should actually tell him what she had said about him "She just said that you wouldn't let anyone leave Woodbury, that you kept charming and threatening people to stay, that you weren't really interested in me you just want me to stay in Woodbury...and this is just one reason to keep me here."

When she said that Aubrey's voice cracked a little and she felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes; "But that's not true is it?"

The Governor didn't have any good answers for Aubrey at the moment it seemed. He wanted to be able to reassure her about Michonne but honestly the woman had made her decision and walked away based on some hunches. Honestly, she had left her friends and a chance at a perfectly normal life because she 'had a bad feeling'? He truly pitied Michonne. If she kept that attitude up then she would never be able to stop, never be able to be around people for long,

"The two of you had been getting rather close I will admit. You looked like you were becoming strong friends... I don't understand why she would leave that." he admitted as he stroked her cheek to try and soothe her a little bit, "She made her decision... I suppose all we can really do is look for her and try to convince her that we want her back."

Hugging her lightly to him, The Governor tried to make her relax a little bit but honestly he wasn't holding out much hope considering. He sipped at his own drink and, for the first time since the formation of Woodbury, he thought he would much rather have an alcoholic drink right about now. As she nuzzled her head against his neck he ran his fingers through her hair to calm her,

"Well to be honest no one has ever wanted to leave Woodbury before. But even if they did... charming and threatening them to stay? This isn't a cult. People can come and go as they please." he told her, frowning at the ideas that Michonne had been spreading. When he heard the last bit his eyes widened before they softened. He gently cupped her cheek with his hand and looked deeply in her eyes, "It's not true at all Aubrey. I'm not with you to keep you here... I love you. That's why I'm with you and why I hope I'll always be with you."

Aubrey felt a little bit better when the Governor told her that he would go and look for Michonne and try and convince her to come back, she would want to go with them, she wanted to go and get her friend and tell her to come back, to show her that she had been wrong about everything that she had thought about Philip and the town of Woodbury. Honestly Aubrey had never felt the least bit threatened while she had been here, not by the people and certainly not by walkers.

"You would go and try to look for her, I know she'll be okay she's been through worse than being out after curfew after all but...I just want her to know that she was wrong about things here, she should come back and join us, and I want to go on the search to look for her." Aubrey stated softly, her eyes looked up to lock with Philips, she was serious about this, she wanted to go and wouldn't back down easily.

Relaxing slowly when the Governor continued to play with her hair, Aubrey let her tension ease away slightly, her shoulders slumped instead of staying tense. The answers to her questions were what she had expected, honestly she had never thought that it was anything like what Michonne had told her Philip just didn't seem like that kind of person.

"I know that, and you know that, and everyone else in Woodbury knows that Im just a little confused as to why she would think that, did anyone say something to her to make her think that, maybe Merle or one of the other guards?" she mused quietly as she sipped at her drink.

The tears that had been pricking in the corners of her eyes spilled down her cheeks and Aubrey rested her head against Philips hand as he pressed it against her cheek; "You promise? I think I could deal with everything else that she said, as long as you're not lying to me about that." Aubrey cried softly, letting her gaze drop from his.

The Governor wasn't lying when he said that he would help to find Michonne and he wasn't lying when he said that all people looking for her would offer her the chance to return. What he didn't even mention was the fact that if she declined he was going to shoot her right between the eyes. He would NOT have her running around out there being a threat to HIS town. If she didn't come back and start acting like she wanted to be a part of it then she was an outsider... an outsider who knew far too much about the town's defences. She was a threat to all he held dear,

"Yes me and the scouts will go looking for her don't you worry." he assured her with a faint smile before it faded a little bit when she said that she wanted to go. He closed his eyes for a few moments before shaking his head a little bit, "Let the scouts go out first. If they find any hints about where she is then we can thinking about sending you out looking for her. Right now though I'm not sure I trust her not to instinctive attack anyone from Woodbury... she's already decided that I'm the boogeyman after all."

He could feel her relaxing at his touch but The Governor was becomming less and less relaxed with every passing second. Michonne was corrupting the very relationship he'd just started with Aubrey, the woman he loved. He wasn't going to take that sitting down. When she mentioned Merle he paused for a second before continuing to stroke her hair. He had threatened Merle, a little bit, into staying. He frowned a little bit,

"I don't know who or what could have given her that impression." he told her with a completely serious expression, "I'm honestly rather hurt that people I trust would think to say something so bad of me..."

He wiped away some of the tears that began to fall as he shushed her gently and held her to him. When she asked if he promised her nodded and looked her in the eyes, tilting her head up so that he could do so when she tilted away from him, "I promise you Aubrey... I love you. For real and forever. And that's never going to change."

Aubrey pouted a little bit and she shook her head, her brow furrowed, she didn't want anyone to be hurt looking for Michonne so that to her was all the more evidence that she and Andrea should go looking for her, because she knew them and was less likely to attack them than if they just sent scouts from Woodbury out, if she was paranoid, this would just be evidence that they wanted to kill her right?

"But..." she started with a small pout still on her lips "I would hate for her to hurt any of the scouts, if she sees them coming she might act like you said but, if me and Andrea go she's far less likely to attack us, and we could get her to talk, tell us more about why she left and reassure her, so that she's going to come back with us a lot easier..."

Feeling him pause in his stroking when she mentioned Merle, Aubrey blinked a little bit, did Merle tell Michonne those things about the Governor? That couldn't be true! If it was then he would have told her for sure, he would have told her before he told Michonne most definately! Although Aubrey was still worried about some of the things Michonne said, she had plenty of time to address them.

"She might have just been making it up Philip, I don't know for sure, so don't get upset please." Aubrey urged with a soft voice, her lips were making a delicate smile as she pecked his cheek "Michonne...she also said that she saw that you keep walkers, in some sort of creepy medical facility...I don't know if she saw it or what, she said she did but...is it true you keep walkers here?"

Honestly, Aubrey had never been so scared, she had invested her whole heart in someone and today she had been told most of the things that she knew about them could be a lie, although, she was slowly more and more seeing this viewpoint as ludacris. When Philip confirmed his love, Aubrey reached forwards and kissed him tenderly, conveying her love through her kiss;

"I love you too Philip, very much." she admitted with a shy smile on her lips "I was just so confused by what Michonne told me...I shouldn't have paid attention to it."

The Governor could tell by the way that she was pouting that she wasn't just going to accept his answer to her idea of her and Andrea going out looking for Michonne. But right now he honestly didn't care to think about her way of thinking about it. Michonne was dangerous to ANYONE from Woodbury. After all, she had convinced herself that he had brainwashed Aubrey. What was to stop this crazy sword-weilding bitch from killing his beloved Aubrey? He looked her dead in the eyes,

"Aubrey..." he said, his voice husky and taking on a commanding tone even though his eyes locked onto her's. The look never wavered and it never dimmed. He just stared directly into her eyes, "Merle, the scouts and I will go after Michonne. She is too dangerous and I won't have her be in any position to hurt you... You're my love and I won't risk you like that."

He could see that she had caught his pause but she must have thought it was from him thinking that Merle had ratted him out. Of course Merle hadn't said anything about it. Merle was smart enough to know that, despite the threats, he had a good thing going for him right now. And if he cocked it up it would be a very bloody and very brief trip to The Governor's interrogation room. He nodded a little bit,

"Yeah... she would have to have made it up. I would do almost anything to protect this town and it's people but I wouldn't do that." he told her, lying coming rather easily to him. He stroked her cheek gently before nodding, "Yes we keep Walkers here. And the facility she saw was Milton's lab. If she had bothered to ask she would know that's where Milton works on a cure to the virus and we steady ways to keep Walkers from being hostile. Good reason to keep Walkers in cages don't you think?"

He kissed her back just as tenderly as she kissed him. Even though he was going to have one of her best friends killed, it didn't change the fact that he was able to give her a taste of the love he had for her. He smiled gently,

"It's alright... she was your friend. I understand you got confused." he told her soothingly before smiling a little wider, "Just so long as you're secure in the knowledge that I love you so very much, Michonne doesn't know my heart. You know my heart because I gave it to you... because I love you."

Aubrey bit her lip softly when she heard that tone coming from the Governor's voice, she could feel herself getting more excited than she thought she would have been when he commanded her like that, he was so controlling but she thought that it was one of the things that was the most sexy about him as a person. It was so sweet to her that he would be so protective and it did sort of make sense that someone who was stronger than her to go and bring Michonne back in case something did happen.

"O-okay then Philip." Aubrey blushed brightly, unable to stop herself from keeping the eye contact between each other, it was just so mesmorising to her "I can see your point, and, I think it's sweet the way that you want to protect me in case something went wrong, but, I don't think that Michonne would do anything really bad to people...she just, doesn't seem the type to me."

When she heard that they did in fact keep walkers, her eyes widened a little bit and she began to worry about if they were able to escape, although, she thought that the Governor would never allow them to be in Woodbury if they were not in the most secure place that they could be. Aubrey relaxed a little when she heard that it was for research, and it made sense now, she knew Milton had a secret project she didn't know a lot about.

"I think that is a very good idea, I didn't know Milton was doing something so dangerous." she whispered softly "I suppose as long as they are being used for research and they are all secure then theres really no problem at all....I just don't understand why she didn't take the time to just ask you about it."

Moving so that she was laying down on the bed, Aubrey patted the space next to her for Philip to lay down with her; "I am so happy that you forgive me for doubting you, I...I am just wondering if now would be a good time for you to tell me about some of the other skeletons you have in your closet, like you said you would?"

The Governor could tell by the excitement that gleamed in her eye, and the rising flush of her cheeks, that his commanding tone and gaze was not something she was against. If anything she seemed to want more of both the strong gaze and his commanding, husky, voice. He could tell that she was going to accept his point of view even before she vocalised it,

"Good." he told her with a small smirk, his voice just as husky and he still refused to take his eyes away from her, still looking right at her. He shook his head a little bit and closed his eyes, breaking the little spell for a moment. When he opened them again his eyes were hard, "I didn't want to tell you this... but before she left Machonne came for her sword. She took it from my study just as I was arriving... and tried to kill me with it. Now... does that sound like she's not the type?"

He sighed a little bit at her reaction to knowing that they did keep Walkers here. Honestly he had expected the reaction but he had expected it to be from him revealing the secrets that he held within his head. The Governor smiled a little bit when she said that it was a good idea and that she didn't know that Milton was up to something that big,

"Milton and I both felt that the fewer people knew, the better. After all, saying we have Walkers in securely locked cages doesn't matter. People would panic the second we said there were Walkers in Woodbury. As for Michonne... she had a gut feeling about me, saw something and instantly jumped to the conclusion that suited her gut feeling." he told her honestly. They both knew it was true, "They're being used for research purposes, although Merle and some of the more violent guards want permission to use them to blow off some steam. Kind of like pro-wrestling but with zombies or something like that..."

Laying down beside her on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer so that she was half-laying on top of him. He smiled a little bit,

"I'll always forgive you." he told her happily before he grew sober and said, "While we're on the subject of securely kept Walkers and secrets... I have... or had... a daughter. Her name was Penny but she was bitten. I... didn't have it in me to kill her. So she's down in a cage in Milton's lab. It's my hope that Milton can cure her... so that my little girl can recognise me again."

Aubrey was about to leave and accept the idea that Michonne was perhaps not the best person to confront at the moment, but that eventually she would calm down and return to normal before she heard that she had attacked and tried to kill Philip. A small little strangled noise escaped her lips and she shook her head, there was no way that she was going to be able to forgive her for doing something like that, she knew how much she loved Philip! Why would she try to kill him? Once more her eyes filled with tears, tears of confusion.

"B-but why would she do something like that?" she asked, her voice was wavering as she voiced her worries to Philip "I can't believe she would do something so violent...especially to you when I told her how much you mean to me. Are you alright, she didn't hurt you at all did she? She didn't cut you anywhere?"

Her eyes flicked over Philip's body looking for the wounds that although she hadn't seen before might be there, hidden away from her sight somewhere. Philip did seem to be fine though, he wasnt wincing in pain when she leant against him, and she couldn't see any bleeding or bandages. When she heard more about the walker experiments, Aubrey nodded her head in understanding;

"Don't worry I promise I wont tell anyone about it, I don't want to cause a panic, and I know many people would react that way, I did myself for a little bit there until I thought it through." Aubrey hummed softly, before smiling broadly up at Philip "I guess there really isn't anything you aren't trying to do for the people of this town, you're so diligent in providing them with everything you can..."

Rolling so that she was laying her head on Philip's chest as she herself laid down, Aubrey traced patterns with her fingertip on his chest, trying to comfort him because from the tone of his voice she could tell that he was going to tell her something serious. When she heard about his daughter, Aubrey sat up and looked into Philip's eyes, giving him a sweet little kiss;

"I understand that desire Philip, if I could have, I would have done it with all the people I loved, but, I just hope that you aren't dissappointed if Milton can't find the result that you're looking for..." she whispered softly, giving his hand a soft squeeze.

The Governor could tell that hearing that she had tried to kill him flipped a switch in Aubrey's mind, almost instantly crushing any friendship she still held for Michonne. He winced a little bit. He honestly hadn't been trying to crush the friendship so completely but all it had taken was the truth about the incident and that was enough for her. To be fair it was probably for the best. The Governor and his men were likely going to have to kill Michonne and he didn't want Aubrey to be devastated by it. Perhaps now she would only be hurt instead of almost destroyed by it,

"She was breaking and entering our home and rooting through our stuff... I guess she thought I'd be mad. Next thing I know she's accusing me to brainwashing you and swings her sword at me. Merle showed up and she ran for it." he told her before sighing a little bit and tilting his head up so that she could see the little red cut on his neck, "Just this little one... it's nothing."

He nodded when she agreed to keep the secret about the Walkers being experimented on. It was good to hear, it meant that she was learning to put the best interests of the town at large in front, just like he had been doing since day one. The only thing that mattered more than the town was Aubrey after all,

"Exactly, this way the people will remain happy and feeling safe and Milton can continue to work on ending this nightmare." he told her with a little smile before he chuckled a little bit, "You'll make me blush... honestly, you're the one thing that comes before the town in my mind. I give the town what it needs whatever the cost... and I try to give you everything you could ever want or need. I love you, I want you to want for nothing."

As she began to trace patterns on his chest he played with her hair idly, happy with this position because it allowed her to hug herself to him so tightly. He swallowed a little bit when he told her about Penny before kissing her back with a faint, sad, smile,

"I know it's a long shot. Even if we had dozens of Milton and the best equipment... it's so very unlikely. But..." he smiled a little bit at her, "I just can't bring myself to give up. As long as there is a glimmer of hope I want to keep trying."

Aubrey was a little disgusted to hear that Michonne was rooting through their stuff, although she didn't have many of her own things with her she had some photographs and personal belongings that she had kept with her in her backpack from when she had first split from the camp in Atlanta, although a little bashed and worn now there were some things that she wasn't ready to share with people yet, and she could have just found them out!

"I can't believe she would do that!" she pouted softly "Doesn't she know that's wrong, I have so many personal photos here she could have seen them, and doesn't she know that I have my own mind! I'm not so easy to fool, and if something is wrong I'll most likely be able to tell."

As soon as she heard that Michonne had cut him, Aubrey leant forwards and she kissed him where the little red mark was, trying to kiss him better; "I'm so sorry that this had to happen to you...that I wasn't there to help you, or stop Michonne."

Honestly she had never thought that she was going to be with someone as wonderful as the Governor, she had only ever been with Matt and he had barely gotten her presents on her birthday. Here was a man wanting to give her anything that she wanted at whatever cost, and to keep herself safe in a world like this that was no mean feat.

"You know I don't need that Philip, I am just happy to be with you, I don't need the fancy bells and whistles that come with it." she stated with a bright smile on her lips, her eyes sparkling with the contentment that she felt from hearing him say such romantic sweet things to her "I love you too, and I want to make sure I'm here to support you through everything, including helping you with Penny."

Gently she peppered his lips with soft kisses before she nuzzled his nose, her hair flopping in front of her eyes a little bit; "Before we move on to more pleasant topics, is there anything else you want to tell me...?"

The Governor could see that Aubrey was really beginning to dislike Michonne and he was honestly frightened of how easy it was to turn her against her friend. But it wasn't like that. It wasn't like he was twisting anything here, this was all Michonne's fault here. He was just watching the friendship fall apart and he sighed a little bit on the inside. Michonne hadn't exactly been the model person or friend. He wasn't going to lose any sleep over killing her,

"Honestly I think she either knows that it's wrong and did it anyway or she honestly believes herself justified in invading our privacy and attacking me to get her sword back." he told her with a small frown before nodding in agreement, "You're an intelligent woman and you're nowhere near as innocent or naive as she might think. You were studying law for god's sake! You're a god damned genius and she still didn't think you could make your own decisions."

He smiled a little bit when she kissed where Michonne had cut him. Honestly it had hardly hurt at the time but he had enjoyed the kiss she had given him. He leant forwards and kissed her back, "It's alright, I wasn't hurt too badly and I wouldn't have wanted her to attack you as well."

When he told her that he was willing and ready to do whatever it took to give her what she needed, what she wanted, he wasn't exaggerating. For his town he had beaten captured raiders, tortured them, and then sent them back as broken human beings, just to give warnings. She meant more to him than the town. For her? For her he would do anything,

"I know you don't Aubrey but I just wanted to tell you of my dedication." he explained to her before his eyes softened and he kissed her gently on the lips, "Having you with me will make everything so much easier to deal with... your comfort means the world to me."

He chuckled a little bit at the little kisses and nuzzled her nose back. When she asked if he had anything else to tell her he clicked his tongue a little bit before nodding, "Yeah... the side room to the study? The locked door? It's part of an experiment by Milton in there, to see how long Walkers can 'live' without eating anything. He said I should be the one to keep track of it since he has other projects. It's nothing hard so I agreed."