Ever the Survivor

It's been awhile since I posted a new chapter you guys, I'm sorry! I've been busy working and job hunting. I'm still a hair stylist/make up artist at my current place of employment, but I 'booth rent', which means I have to pay weekly to work there. And I only actually get paid for the work I do, no hourly wage. And it's been slow lately, so I'm trying to find a second job that will pay me hourly, that way I can at least get more income so I can afford to keep working there. Because my little side gig of painting doesn't bring in as much cash as I'd like. Just finished a Merle with a batman quote tho. Link to that one which leads to my current shop after this, since a few of you followers inquired about it a couple chapters ago. I don't have all my paintings listed yet since I have several that aren't done. Mostly a couple more Boondock pieces. I have a Rick one in the works as well, but I only have a rough outline of what I want to do.

etsy.com/listing/153105291/merle-dixon-michael-rooker-the-walking?

Speaking of paintings, I cannot for the life of me finish the Daryl one I'm working on! -_- so I decided that maybe writing some more will give me a little inspiration. So enjoy this chapter.

Replies to FanFiction comments vv

xxjttxx: This one features a little more 'Daryl and Kat togetherness', as will the following chapters when I can work them in :)

Tammie: Thank you & please do! I love subscribers and favorites. They make me happy :)

Lindz: Thanks, I agree. I set out to write this as if someone who had never watched the episodes could still feel like they have just because of reading the chapters I put out. I hope everyone else enjoys it as well.

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It was a quiet morning on the Greene's farm the next day. The group that was on the property were greeted by the songs of birds and bugs as they made their way outside with Hershel and his family.

They were a little ways from the house gathering large rocks so they could build a small memorial for Otis when the sound of a motorcycle's engine made them all stop and look towards the private road that led to the house. Glenn let out a sigh as he saw the vehicles that were approaching.

Daryl was in the lead on Merle's Triumph, followed closely by Kat's Avenger, the Hyundai Tucson Shane had been prepping to leave in and Dale's Winnebago. The group walked back towards the front of the house as they waited for the rest of their group to rejoin them.

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Hershel sat on the edge of the bed Carl was laying on. "Fever's gone down." Hershel said as he felt the boy's cheeks and forehead. He brought his hand away as Carl started to stir. He grabbed onto the boy's wrist, giving it a gentle squeeze to reassure him.

At the movement from her son, Lori quickly got up and sat on the other side of the bed. "Baby?" She said as she looked down at him.

Rick stood up and leaned over him. "Carl?" He said as his son finally opened his eyes.

The boy looked between the two of his parents for a second. "Sophia? Is she okay?" He asked, quietly, as he looked at his father. Carl wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but was hoping in that time, they had found her.

Rick didn't answer for a few seconds as he looked down at his boy. He didn't want to upset him, not right now, in his fragile state. "Fine...She's fine." Rick said to him.

"Rest." Lori said as she looked at Carl with a small smile. "We'll be right here, okay?"

As if willed back to sleep by his mother's voice, Carl's eyelids felt too heavy to hold open. "'Kay." He softly said as they fell shut once again. Lori picked up his hand and held it in her's while she rubbed his arm.

Rick sat back down in his seat as they heard the front door open and footsteps coming towards the room. The bedroom door opened a second later.

"They're here." Lori heard T-Dog say before she turned to look at the door. Sure enough, at that second, they could hear the Triumph's loud engine getting closer outside. They all got up, leaving Carl there to sleep, and headed to the front door.

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Daryl came to a stop in front of the house and leaned over to put the bike's kickstand down before he got off the Triumph. Kat and Andrea pulled up behind him as Dale angled the RV behind their cars. Everyone exited the vehicles and walked closer to the house as Hershel, Rick, T-Dog and Lori came down off the porch, reuniting with their group.

No one's sobbing uncontrollably. That's a good sign. Kat thought, looking at the parents as she walked closer, Sam all but glued to her side. Ever since the shock of Sophia going missing and Carl being shot, he didn't want to stray too far from her or Dylan for too long. They left Kaleb in the car while they went to see what was going on. That kid could sleep like a rock. She envied him a little.

As she got closer, she quickly took in the five faces gathered around that she didn't recognize. The Greene's. Her eyes didn't stay on them for long, as they quickly fell to Daryl's backside while he bent over to grab his crossbow from the motorcycle. He had the strap around the seat's back so it hung off the end of the bike. Kat shook her head, biting her lip to try to hide the smirk that was fighting her, as she walked closer to him. This wasn't the time to be admiring a view, obstructed by clothes or not. She stopped at his side as he lifted the Horton and stood up straight again.

Dale was the first to break the silence. "How is he?" He said as he looked at Rick.

"He'll pull through," Lori nodded, a smile on her lips as she looked behind her, "thanks to Hershel and- and his people."

"And Shane." Rick smiled, as he looked over to his friend. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him."

Kat glanced over at the mention of the man, along with everyone else. There he stood, looking like a deer caught in headlights, with his new haircut and oversized clothes.

Dale and Rick walked closer to each other for a hug as Carol did the same with Lori. "Thank God." She sighed as she held the younger woman close. "We were so worried."

Rick and Lori were right next to them now, no longer in front of them, in front of the Greene's. But Kat noticed Daryl would hardly take his eyes of the strangers. They looked harmless enough. But she understood; you couldn't trust people you didn't know. Right now, more than ever. And Daryl didn't seem like the person that handed trust out like candy, anyway.

Rick turned to her once Dale let him go and brought her in for a hug. "I'm glad he's all right. The boy's have been asking about him." She quietly laughed.

Rick let her go, holding onto her small shoulders. He looked down at her face before looking to Sam, who was still right next to her. "You guys can see him when he wakes up." He gave Sam a smile, which he returned as Rick stepped back again.

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked.

"Huntin accident. That's all- just a stupid accident." Rick waved his hand in the air for a second.

Introductions were passed around between Hershel's people and the much larger group after Rick and Lori explained what had all transpired over the past 24 hours. Hershel asked everybody to help gather the rest of the rocks they were looking for before everyone showed up, so they could get Otis's memorial under way.

Once they had a good sized wheel barrel full they moved it to a clear spot of land under several trees as the Greene's started placing rocks, building up a mound that was slowly growing in height.

The Survivors gathered around as they watched. Patricia's quiet sobs for her late husband drowned out once again by Hershel's voice as he finished a few lines from the Bible in his hands. "Blessed be God," He said, shutting the book, "Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Praise be to Him for the gift of our brother Otis," he continued as the Greene's started walking up, one by one, grabbing the smaller rocks from the wheel barrel and placing them on top before walking back, "for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank You, God, for the peace he enjoys in Your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace."

Shane stared off into the grass. Not really paying attention to what was going on around him. His mind kept playing him back what actually happened.

"Shane," Hershel said, snapping him out of his reverie, "will you speak for Otis?"

"I'm not good at it." He said as he looked at the ground with a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him." Patricia said. "You shared his final moments. Please." Her voice cracked. "I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." She said as she looked at him, the tears ready to fall again.

Shane looked at her for a second before pulling his eyes away. "Meaning." He said quietly. He looked around for a few seconds. He'd practiced this story over and over again in his head last night, waiting for the moment he would be asked what happened.

"We were about done...Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limpin. It was bad..Ankle all swollen up..'We gotta save the boy.' See, that's what he said." Shane said, feigning sadness as he made his voice go higher at the last word. "He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. 'Run,' he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' And when I looked back..." Shane stopped, looking around before he locked eyes with Patricia.

Everyone seemed to have bought the story as Rick's hand absentmindedly went to his gun. The one he'd lent Otis. Kat thought as she saw him move his arm. Rick had told them that part when they'd gave them the run down of what had happened in their time away. Then how'd Shane get it back? Dale looked confused as well, not even seeing as Daryl's eyes followed Kat's to Rick's hand, the gears turning in his head, too.

Shane limped forwards towards the wheel barrel. "If not for Otis...I'd have never made it out alive." He said as he picked up a rock. He walked around the wheel barrel towards the growing pile they made. "And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis. He saved us both." He turned and looked at the memorial as everyone watched him before he looked back at Patricia. "If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

Patricia nodded as he turned around and placed the rock on top of the pile.

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"Where are you goin?" Sam said as Kat walked by him and towards the woods after they got done setting up their three tents. He was sitting on the ground outside going through his bag, sorting his clothes into piles. Dirty, and slightly less dirty. The others were too distracted either putting up their tents or gathering around with Hershel to be bothered with them.

"Just going for a walk for a little bit. Gonna look around." Kat said quietly, turning her head to look at him while she continued towards the woods. He started throwing his clothes and bag into the tent while he got up.

"No. Stay here with Dylan." She turned and looked at him. She stood there and waited until he sat back down with a sigh.

Sam watched her walk away, again. He glanced over at Carol's car where the other adults were, waiting for Maggie to come back with something she said would be useful. Kaleb was inside with Lori, Carl and Carol. He looked behind him towards the house where Dylan wasn't paying any attention. He was busy chatting up the youngest Greene girl. Sam decided he would sit there for a few more minutes before he'd sneak in the direction his sister had gone off in.

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"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked the people in front of him. They were standing at the front of Carol's Cherokee. Rick was beside him as Shane and Andrea leaned on the hood. Daryl had finished putting his tent up, glancing around the camp, not seeing Kat as he walked over to them.

"This'll be day three." Rick said as Maggie walked back to them with a large rolled up paper in one hand and a couple rocks in the other.

"County survey map." She said as she reached them. She spread the map out onto the hood of the car and set the two rocks down on the top corners to hold it there. "Shows terrain and elevations."

"This is perfect." Shane said as he looked down at the map with the others. He'd changed back into his normal fitting clothes after the memorial since the others had brought the cars and their belongings.

"We can finally get this thing organized." Rick said. "We'll grid the whole area, start searchin in teams."

"Not you. Not today." Hershel said as he looked at Rick, causing the man to look at him. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passin out." He said. He then looked at Shane. "And your ankle- push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."

Daryl looked at the old man for a second then raised his eyebrows briefly before he pointed at the map. "Guess it's just me." Daryl's tongue shot out over his bottom lip before going back in his mouth. "I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." He said as he nodded at Rick while he readjusted his Horton on his shoulder. Rick nodded at him.

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane said as he looked at the small group around him.

"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doin this right." Rick glanced down at the map again.

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. I'm not too worried about the Carsen's, but the rest of em need the gun trainin we've been promisin em." Shane said.

At the mention of them, Daryl looked around, noticing Kat was still nowhere to be seen. Dylan was still with Beth, Jimmy hanging in the back looking mildly annoyed. Daryl looked to the treeline and thought he saw a small figure disappear into the woods half a second after his eyes hit it. He knew Kaleb was inside, so it could only have been Sam, who was also absent. He looked back at the group.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turnin this into an armed camp." Hershel said.

Shane removed his navy blue cap from his head that read 'Police' on the front. "All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wanderin in here.." He chuckled as he put his cap back on.

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick said as he looked from Hershel to Shane. He removed his Colt Python from it's holster and set it on the hood of Carol's Cherokee, on top of the map. Shane sighed and looked away for a minute before he did the same with his Glock 17. "First things first: set camp, find Sophia." Rick said as the two with gun's had theirs laid out on the hood. Daryl's was in the bag on Merle's bike, and he sure as hell wasn't walking over there and handing it over. He didn't have it on him at the moment, that was good enough, he thought.

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit?" Shane asked as he rested his hands on the hood of the car. "I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

Rick looked down at the map again. "You do what has to be done."

"And her mother? What do ya tell her?" Maggie asked as she pulled her eyebrows together.

"The truth." Andrea said, like it was obvious. What else would they do? Lie to her? Just say they didn't find her? So she could spend the rest of the time thinking she was forever out there alone when they suddenly stopped going out and looking. That would fly.

Maggie looked at her father, but he shook his head at her. These people didn't see things the way they did, that much was already obvious. They would keep their business to themselves.

Shane grabbed his Glock from the hood before taking Rick's. "I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carryin till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Shane said as he looked at Hershel. Everyone waited in silence for a few seconds for the man's reply.

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick said as he turned to face him. Another couple seconds passed before Hershel nodded. "Thank you."

Daryl slapped his hand on the hood of the car to let them know he was leaving as he walked away. He was making a stop at his tent to grab a few things before he went straight for the trees where he'd seen Sam walk off in across the property. Shane also departed to go on gun-collecting detail.

"That stuff you brought, got more antibiotics, bandages, anything like that?" Maggie asked Rick.

"Just what you've seen." Andrea answered her before leaving.

"We're runnin short already. I should make a run into town." Maggie said to her father.

"Not the place Shane went?" Rick quickly asked, concern etched on his face.

"No, there's a pharmacy just a mile down the road. I've done it before." She said as she looked back at her father.

Rick turned and looked behind him, several feet away where the group was setting up their camp. His eyes were searching for the person he knew he could depend on for this little errand. "See our man there in the baseball cap?" Rick asked as they looked towards the young man. "That's Glenn, our..go-to-town expert. I'd ask him along just to be cautious."

Hershel looked from Rick to Maggie as he tilted his head in Glenn's direction. Maggie nodded her head as she leaned off the car and walked over to the young man.

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Shane had went and grabbed the bag of guns from the RV and was limping his way down the stairs to the ground below. He took a few steps before the figure off to his right stopped him. Lori was standing there. They looked at each other, an awkward silence starting as they both stood there for a couple seconds. Shane's eyes found the ground before he looked at her face again. "I hear he, uh, he woke up."

Lori smiled. "Yeah. He's in and out, but yeah. He'll be all right." She nodded.

Shane let out a relieved sigh with a little laugh as Lori joined him. "That's good." He nodded his head with a smile. He started to walk past her as she made her way into the RV. As she got to the door, Shane turned around. "Did you mean it?"

"What?" Lori turned to look at him.

Shane turned to face her fully again as he looked around him. "You said stay. Did you mean it?" He asked more quietly as he took a couple steps to her. "Look, if you didn't just say so..But do it now. I need to know."

"..I meant it."

Shane looked at her for a few seconds. "All right then." He said as he slowly turned around and walked away. Lori watched him before she turned back around and went for the bathroom of the RV.

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Glenn was still trying to figure out which tent pole went where when he felt someone standing next to him. He looked to his left and saw the oldest Green daughter, Maggie, standing there with a smile on her face.

"I hear you're fast on your feet and know how to get in and out." She said. Glenn gave her a confused look. "Got a pharmacy run. You in?"

"Uhh...Ssu.."

"Miss," Dale interrupted as he walked up to the two, making both of them look at him, "what's the water situation here?"

"Got five wells on our land. House draws directly from number one." She said as she held her arm out and pointed her finger in the direction of the different well locations. "Number-two well is right over there. We use it for the cattle but it's just as pure. Take what you need. There's a cart and containers in the generator shed behind the house." Dale nodded at her as she turned her head back to Glenn. "I'll go saddle your horse then." She said as she walked off in the direction of the stables that were on the other side of the property.

Glenn looked at the empty space she had just been standing in for a second before he turned to look at Dale who was still next to him. "Horse?"

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Shane had quickly collected the few guns that were floating around the camp and was now laying the gun bag out on the picnic table that was near the RV as Andrea walked over to him. He ejected the clip from his Glock as she came to a halt at the table.

"Give up our guns?" She asked in a condescending tone.

Shane sighed as he took his hat off before he set it down on the table. "You heard Rick. We're guests here."

"And you're okay with it?"

"I don't recall bein asked. Now lay down your weapon." Shane said as he started opening up the bag.

Andrea readjusted her bag on her shoulder as she shook her head. "You may like rolling over, I don't."

"Look, I have to strip and clean em anyway. You still wanna learn?" He asked. The hard, angry look she'd had on her face softened a bit at his offer. "Go on." He said, raising his eyebrows. She still hadn't handed over her gun. She reached into her bag and put it on the table in front of them. "All right. Sit down." He said as they both sat on the benches across from each other. "Unload your weapon."

Andrea picked up her gun and started to eject the clip as Shane put his hand on the barrel she had facing towards him. "Hey, hey." He said as he lightly pushed it off to the side. She held it facing away from him as she took out the magazine and set it on the table.

"Check the chamber. Pull it back." He said, motioning with his hands. Andrea did as she was told, showing that it was empty. "See, push that lever out." He said as she once again followed his instructions. She pulled the take down lever out and set it on the table. "It'll slide off." He said. She pulled the slide and it did just as he said. She smiled to herself as she looked down at the gun she was taking apart. Shane raised his eyebrows as he put his hands down on the table. "You're halfway there."

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Kat had only been walking further into the forest for about 15 minutes, ducking under branches and weaving through trees as the woods were thicker here when she heard a rustling behind her. She unsnapped the button that held her combat knife in it's sheath on her shoulder holster as she turned around, waiting for whatever was making the noise to show itself. A few seconds pasted, the sound getting closer, before the culprit slipped through the brush.

"God damn it, Sam, what the hell did I tell you?" She said as she saw his blond hair come out from under the tree branch she'd just went under a couple seconds before. She lowered her knife to her side as he came closer and stood to his full height. Which was eye to eye with Kat's 5 foot frame.

Sam looked at her like he was bored. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

Kat raised her eyebrows at her little brother, 10 years her junior. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't by myself..I was only a little ways from you the whole time..I was quiet too, you didn't even notice I was behind you till the stupid trees got thicker." Kat started to interrupt him but he cut her off. "I have my gun and was always paying attention for any Walkers. I'm not stupid."

Kat sighed as she looked down at him. She had to give him credit. Not a lot of people could sneak up on her. "It doesn't matter. You shouldn't have snuck away from them to catch up with me. I doubt you told Dylan where you were going, right?" She nodded her head at him, already knowing the answer. Had he told his older brother, he wouldn't even be standing here right now.

Sam just looked at the ground for a second before looking back at her face. "You're always going off on your own, leaving us with Dylan. You did that even before we met up with all those people. I'm sick of being left behind. I'm not a damn baby."

"Hey!" Kat looked into his blue eyes with a sigh. "I know you aren't...I'm just trying to keep you boys safe. You're more protected there with all of them than out here in the open with me."

"Well..I can keep you safe." Sam shrugged his shoulders at her as he pulled a corner of his mouth up ever so slightly. "I just..don't want anything to happen to you, too."

Kat looked at him for a second. She was contemplating turning them around and walking back to camp or to just keep going. She held out her other arm towards him, silently telling him to walk next to her as she let out an exasperated sigh, though she was smiling. "Come on, you brat."

They continued on the way Kat was originally going for a few more minutes before Sam spoke up again. "What are you doing anyway?"

Kat shrugged her shoulders as they came up to a steep, rocky hill. It looked like it wrapped around a large area from what part of it she could see. It was a few feet high, but they would be able to climb up it. And that's what she was planning on doing. "Just looking around. Checking out the area around here..Seeing if there's any sign of Sophia over this way. Or anything, really." She said as she grabbed onto the trunk of a small birch tree and pulled herself up, Sam following her example.

"You think she made it this far? It's a little bit away from the highway."

"If she kept going, she could have." She said as they climbed to the top. The brush wasn't as thick on the top of the hill, but it quickly dropped down, mirroring the other side. They started climbing their way down, using the trees as support.

"Do you think we're gonna find her?" Sam asked as he slipped a little, grabbing onto a tree beside him as Kat turned to grab his arm. He was already balanced again, though.

Kat thought on the question for a second. She was honestly losing hope as the days went by. A missing child's chances in the normal world was one thing, but in this world, now? "I don't know...But if Daryl can pick up a trail again, he'd be the one to find her if she's still out here."

"Is he really that good at tracking?"

Kat smiled a little as they reached the bottom. "Yeah..He could give uncle Phil a run for his money."

Sam smiled, but it was a sad one, and Kat's slowly followed. "Do you think they're all right?" He quietly asked.

Kat hadn't thought about them for weeks to be honest, with everything that was happening. And she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him what she'd told Dylan weeks ago when they left Elijay. She glanced down at him as they walked through the trees into the area the rocky, natural fence had been hiding. He isn't a baby. "I hope so...But we stayed at the house for so long because I was waiting to see if they'd come back. When they didn't..I decided it was time to leave." She said quietly as they walked out of the tree line into a clearing.

Sam nodded his head. "That's kinda what I thought was going on..Rising Fawn was only about two hours from where we were...if they were okay they would've come home." Kat looked down at him. That was exactly why she'd waited those weeks. He looked over at her, pulling his mouth into a half smile. "I'm not stupid." He told her, again. She smiled at him as they both looked out onto the area the rocky hills were wrapped around. "Whoa."

The little valley in front of them was slightly over grown with grass. It was maybe a little less than the size of a football field. The steep rocky hills wrapped around the whole area, and there was a decent sized pond in the middle. It looked untouched from this mess as far as Kat could tell. No sign of anything, and no sign of Sophia.

"Hmm." Kat nodded as she looked around. It looked safe here. Maybe she could sneak off to this place whenever she needed time away while they were here. That's what she missed about her home back in Elijay. The quiet little pond out back behind her house, nothing like her apartment on the streets of DC. She would sit out there to think most of the time or to just enjoy how peaceful it was. Being alone was something she missed. She liked having time to herself to just unwind. She couldn't do that anymore with people constantly around. "It's nice."

"That water looks nice." Sam said as he stared at the pond. The water wasn't dirty and gross like most ponds he'd seen. It reminded him of the clear blue water at the quarry.

Kat nodded as she thought the same thing. "Let's head back, before people start wondering where we're at. Since you snuck off." She looked at him and raised her eyebrows as they turned back around and headed for the rocky hill again.

"You did too." Sam made his voice higher as he brought his eyebrows together.

Kat let out a little laugh. "Well I at least mentioned to Dylan I might go out for a bit. You just ran off."

Sam shook his head at her as they climbed.

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Rick was sitting on the brick stairs that led up to the Greene's house, waiting for Hershel. They were going to drive a couple minutes to the edge of his property to give Rick a better idea of where they were exactly. Rick was messing with his hat in his hands while he was looking out over the land. He turned his head to look in the direction of the sound of gravel being walked on as he saw Daryl's retreating form step off of the grass onto the driveway as he passed over it, heading towards the trees. Rick stood up.

"Daryl." He called out, causing the man to slow down until he came to a stop while he looked at Rick, who stepped closer. "You okay on your own?"

"I'm better on my own." Daryl said as he turned around and started walking towards the trees again. "Don't worry, I'll be back before dark."

"Hey." Rick shouted as Daryl kept walking. Rick took a few more steps before he stopped as Daryl slowed and turned back around. "We got a base." Rick said as he looked around them. "We can get this search properly organized now."

What the hell's he gettin at? Daryl thought as he stepped towards Rick. "You got a point or are we just chattin?"

"My point..is it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anythin."

Daryl turned around and started walking for the woods. "My other plans fell through." Damn it, Merle.

Rick furrowed his brow as he watched the youngest Dixon walk away. He put his Sheriff's hat back on his head and placed his hands on his hips as he turned back towards the house, seeing Hershel come out of the front screen door and down the steps. The old man held the rolled up map in his hand and his cane in the other as he came to a stop next to Rick. The two looked out over their camp that was mostly set up now.

"We could give you more space." Rick said as he looked back at him. "Set up over by the barn." Rick pointed to the old wooden structure on the other side of the large yard.

"No, no need for that." Hershel said. "Better you stay close to the house." He said as he turned from the barn to the man in front of him. "I don't say this easily, Rick. We don't normally take in strangers. I can't have your people thinkin this is permanent. Once you find this girl and your boy's fit for travel, I expect you'll move on..We need to be clear on that." Hershel said. The men looked at each other for a second before Hershel turned and walked towards his 1990 Chevy Suburban.

Rick looked at the ground in front of him before he followed the man.

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Glenn was looking through the binoculars in his hands at Maggie, seeing her make her way back to the house from the stables. She was on a light brown horse and leading another one by it's reins behind her.

"Hello farmer's daughter." Glenn said to himself as he smiled at the magnified view in front of him. Maggie was pretty hot, he had to admit. The vision was interrupted as Lori stepped in front of him. He quickly put the binoculars down as he looked between her and the device, a little embarrassed he'd gotten caught looking.

"Hi." Lori smiled. "Here's your list." She said as she held out the paper to him. He took it from her, looking around briefly to see if anyone else had caught him before he unfolded the list to glance at a few of the items. Lori reached into her back pocket and stepped closer to him. "And, um, there's-there's one other item. I wrote it down separately. It's personal. If we could be real discreet about that, okay?" Lori whispered.

Glenn shook his head at her as he took the paper from her and unfolded it. "Sure."

"Thank you." She said as she turned around.

True Blue. What the heck is that? He looked up at her fleeing figure as she walked away from him. "Uhh..what is it?" If it was tampons, they would've just wrote it down, they did the last time.

She stopped and turned around. "Kinda missed the point of the whole discreet thing, Glenn." She smiled before she turned and walked away again.

"Oh, right." He looked back down at the paper before walking closer to her. She stopped and looked at him. "I just- I just need to know where to find it." He whispered.

She looked out over the yard. "Try the..feminine hygiene section." She said as she looked at him.

"Oh. Enough said. Consider it done." Glenn nodded.

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Dale and T-Dog had made their way clear over to the second well on the property. They had a wheel barrel filled with several jugs they were planning on filling up so they would have a good amount of drinking water.

T-Dog set the wheel barrel down as they came to a stop at the pump, which was several feet away from the actual well. "I'm not weak and I'm not a coward." T-Dog panted.

"I never said you were." Dale said as he set the jug in his hands down on the ground next to him.

"No, what I said on the highway- I don't know what that was, where it came from. That wasn't me." T-Dog said as he started pumping the handle, bringing up fresh water from the well, letting it pour into the bucket they set on the ground in front of it. "If it's okay, I'd rather you never told anybody about that stuff I said."

Dale looked at him, confused. "What stuff? I couldn't get a word out of you all day." He said as he looked at the water flowing into the bucket.

T-Dog glanced at the old man with a toothy grin, causing Dale to smile at him. "Say, man, you think there's a snowball's chance we'll actually find that little girl?"

"For the first time in my life I'm bettin on the snowball." Dale said as he looked around the area they were at. His eyes landed on the actual well. It was covered with planks of wood, but just above the well, the boards were broken. He furrowed his brow as he walked closer to it.

"Yeah." T-Dog said as he kept pumping the handle. "Me, too. Do whatever we have to. I don't care if I have to comb the woods like Rambo or fetch a pail of water. Everyone kicks in, does their part."

Dale could hear movement at the bottom of the well, water sloshing around, as he leaned over and looked down through the busted out boards.

"Am I right?" T-Dog said. Dale stood back up. "Do your part, don't complain." T-Dog said as he leaned over, taking the steel ladle they had in the wheel barrel and dipping it into the now filled bucket of water from the well. "That's what I always-" Dale knocked into him at the moment, knocking the ladle from his hand before he could get it to his mouth for a drink. T-Dog raised his eyebrows as he looked at the man.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you." Dale said. T-Dog's face fell as he looked behind Dale at the well, at the broken boards on top.

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Daryl was following the path Sam had left when he heard quiet talking ahead of him. He'd know that voice anywhere by now. He let out a couple whistles.

"That's not a bird." Kat said as she looked ahead of them around the trees.

"Hello?" Sam said a little louder.

"'S me." Daryl called back as he walked closer, finally appearing from behind a large tree in the middle of the path. "What're ya doin out here?"

"Went for a walk." Kat shrugged her shoulders. "What are you doin?"

"Planned on lookin for the girl."

Kat nodded as she looked at him. "We were heading back to camp, but we can go with you. Didn't see anything back that way." She tilted her head behind her, in the direction they'd come from.

Daryl nodded, he hadn't seen any sign of anyone other than Sam coming this way. "Just came lookin for you guys. Saw this one walkin into the woods a lil while before I left. Figured he was with you."

"You saw me?" Sam asked, he almost sounded a little disappointed. Daryl nodded at him.

Kat lightly elbowed her little brother. "You hear that? Need to brush up on your ninja skills a little there, bud." Kat smiled at him before looking at Daryl.

"Well we can't all be you." Sam rolled his eyes.

Daryl smirked. "She sneaky?" He asked, looking from Sam back to Kat.

"Oh, yeah." The boy said.

Kat let out a scoffing laugh before she brushed past Daryl. "Come on." Sam followed right after her as Daryl turned around, walking up beside her. He turned them after a few feet and started walking in the direction of the creek. They'd start there then fan out on their way back to camp.

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"Hey, Glenn. Don't leave yet. Need you and Maggie for somethin. Go get Dylan." Shane said. Glenn and Maggie both looked towards the man. T-Dog was standing by him and Andrea with a look of concern on his face.

Glenn, Maggie, Dylan, Lori, Andrea, T-Dog and Shane all made their way to a waiting Dale at the well. As they got closer, they all either knelt down or bent over to see into the hole, finally seeing the cause of concern as Dale shone a flashlight towards the bottom. A large Walker had busted the boards when it wandered on top of the well. It was moving around at the bottom, knocking into the pieces of wood floating on the water. It hissed and growled as it looked up at them.

"Looks like we got us a swimmer." Dale said.

"Dylan, help me get this off." Shane said as he took a hold of the remaining cover on the well. He and Dylan lifted the boards off almost effortlessly and moved them off to the side, setting them on the ground. No wonder it busted through. They weren't very sturdy. The boards must've been sitting on top of that thing for a long time.

"How long you think it's been down there?" Glenn asked as they looked through the now open well.

"Long enough to grow gills." Andrea said as she looked down at the waterlogged Walker. It's color was gray and decaying like most of them were, but the skin covering it was almost transparent from being in the water for so long.

"We can't leave it in there. God knows what it's doin to the water." Lori said.

"We gotta get it out." Shane said as he looked down at it with everyone else.

"Easy. Put a bullet in it's head." T-Dog said. "I'll get a rope."

"Whoa, whoa, guys. No." Maggie said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Why not? It's a good plan." Glenn said as he stood up from his bent over position and looked at her.

"It's a stupid plan." Andrea said as she looked at Glenn before peering back into the well. "If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing it's brains out will finish the job."

"She's right...Can't risk it." Shane said.

"So it has to come out alive?" T-Dog asked, looking down at the Walker again.

"So to speak." Shane smiled a little.

Glenn bent back over the well, resting his hands on his knees. "How do we do that?" He asked as he looked around at everyone.

Dylan had his hands linked together and on top of his head as he looked around at them. He shrugged his shoulders as he let his hands fall to his sides. "Go get the rope."

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"The interstate where you broke down is here." Hershel said to Rick as he pointed to a road on the map. "There's your creek." He said as he moved his finger. "My farm is here. We're lookin out that way, south-southeast." Hershel held his hand out to the land in front of them. They had stopped on the edge of a dirt-cliff of sorts, looking out onto a valley at the edge of the Greene's land. They had both been kneeling down in the grass with the map laid out at their feet, but Hershel was standing up now, walking to the edge of the sloped cliff.

Rick looked down at the map, pointing out the landmarks to himself. "We missed this branch of the creek entirely. If she went that direction, she'd be miles from where we looked."

"Rick, take a moment. Come look." Hershel said as he tilted his head back at the younger Sheriff. Rick stood and walked over to the old man, putting his hat back on. "That's something, isn't it?" Hershel pointed his cane into the view in front of them. The valley beyond the trees, the creek running through the middle, all the way to the forest in the distance that blended into the high hill tops in the background. The blue sky and white clouds giving it a picture perfect backdrop. It was a beautiful sight. "It's good to pause for an occasional reminder."

"Of what?" Rick asked.

"Whatever comes to mind. For me it's often God." Hershel said, turning to Rick, noticing the grimace on his face. "No thoughts on that?"

"Last time I asked God for a favor and stopped to admire a view my son got shot." He said as he turned to face Hershel. The old man nodded slightly. "I try not to mix it up with the Almighty anymore..Best we stay outta each other's way." Rick looked back out onto the valley.

"Lori told me your story- how you were shot, the coma. Yet you came out of it somehow. You did not feel God's hand in yours?"

Rick smiled and looked down as he chuckled a little. "At that moment? No, I did not." He said, looking back up at the man, remembering how alone he felt when he had came to and realized he was by himself. That his family was gone.

"In all the chaos you found your wife and boy. Then he was shot and he survived. That tells you nothing?" Hershel raised his eyebrows a little.

"Tells me God's got a strange sense of humor." Rick said, looking at Hershel before he turned and walked back to the map. Hershel gave him a small smile as he looked back out at the creek.

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Dylan had wrapped the large chunk of ham Maggie brought him from the fridge with twine and tied it to a piece of wood that Dale was holding. He was lowering it down into the well as Shane had a hold on the rope that they had made a noose out of. The plan was to put it around the upper half of the Walker when it reached for the ham. But as they dangled the meat in front of the Walker's face, it acted like it wasn't even there.

"He's not goin for it." Dale said as he and Shane stood side by side, looking into the well.

"Maybe cause a canned ham don't kick and scream when ya try to eat it." T-Dog said, shining the flashlight on the Walker as he leaned against his knee while they all watched.

Dale bobbed the ham up and down in front of the Walker's face again but it turned away from it.

"He's right. There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards." Lori said.

"We need live bait." Andrea said, then looked at Glenn who was standing next to her.

Glenn felt everyone's eyes on him all of a sudden and stood up straight as he looked around. Maggie, unaware of what they all had in mind, finally looked up, seeing everyone staring expectantly at the errand boy.

"You're the only one that's the right size." Andrea said as Glenn looked at the well and sighed.

He held his hand out. "D-Dylan. Dylan's around the same size I am. Why me?"

"He's around the same height, yeah, but he's a little more built than you are..You'll be easier to lift back out." Shane said as he looked across the well at him then back at Glenn. Glenn was a little scrawny compared to the eldest Carsen boy. It wasn't like Dylan had muscles popping out of his shirt, but he could tell the boy must've worked out a bit or did a lot of hard labor before this.

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"Have I mentioned that I really like your new haircut? You have a nice shaped head." Glenn said as he was sitting on the edge of the well, Shane tightening the rope around him. They'd made a makeshift climbing harness that fit around his thighs and waist.

"Don't worry about it, bud. Hey, we're gonna get outta here in one piece." Shane said as he stood up and handed Glenn the noose that was to go around the Walker.

"Living piece." Glenn said as he took the rope from Shane, shouldering it as he held his flashlight in his hand. "The living part is important."

Shane walked over to the front of the line they'd formed, everyone holding onto the rope. They had it looped around the water pump for support and then leading to Glenn.

"Nice and slow, please." Glenn said as he leaned forward, holding onto the iron bar that went across the length of the well at the top. They had the rope wrapped around it once so it would lower him down smoothly.

"We got you." Andrea said as they all tightened their grip on the rope.

"Oh, you people are crazy." Maggie said from behind them as she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You wanna get it out of your well or not?" Shane said as he looked back at her.

"Give us an eye there, Maggie." Dale said as he looked at the well.

Maggie uncrossed her arms as she walked to the well and stood next to Glenn. He looked back at her as she shook her head. Glenn let go of the edge of the well as they started to lower him down. He started breathing heavy as he looked from the rusty iron bar that held the rope that was now his lifeline, to the growling Walker below him.

Maggie leaned in over the well to look down at him. "Doin okay?"

"Yup, doin great." He smiled up at her before he looked back down at the Walker. "Livin the dream." He said quietly. He held his flashlight and shone it on the Walker as he took the noose off his shoulder. They kept lowering him down slowly.

"Little lower..Little more." Maggie was coaching them as she watched Glenn get closer and closer to the growling Walker. It was getting more and more agitated the further down Glenn got.

The old rusty screws on the water pump couldn't take the weight anymore as they slowly started separating from the old boards holding it in place. Shane looked from Maggie leaning over the well to the pump when he heard a bang and saw the pump falling to the ground.

Glenn screamed as he felt himself fall a couple feet.

"Get it! Get it!" Maggie yelled as she ran behind Dale and grabbed for the rope.

"Grab it!" T-Dog yelled as Shane let go of the rope and ran to the water pump before it could be ripped away. But he was a second too late. The pump completely separated from the pipes and flew towards the well, Glenn's weight pulling the rope. He fell several feet further into the well as T-Dog and Shane both jumped at the pump.

Glenn's feet were inches from the snarling Walker as it grabbed for him. "Get me out of here!" He yelled between screams.

T-Dog was lying on his back, holding the pump to his chest, his feet planted on the slightly raised sides of the well as he pushed against it, trying to pull Glenn up. Everyone was grabbing for the pump and rope, trying with everything they had not to let Glenn fall further down.

"Get it off. Get off." Glenn said as he looked down at the Walker, grabbing at his feet. He kicked at it's hands and grabbed for the wall trying to pull himself up. "Get off! Get me out!"

Everyone topside was straining as they tried to pull him back up. Without the support from the pump, it felt like he weighed twice as much. "Hang on, Glenn!" Lori yelled.

"Get off me! Get off me!" Glenn screamed at the Walker as he felt it grab onto his foot again. "This is bad. Oh, my God. Guys, get me out! Come on you guys. Get me out of here!" He kicked at it's face again as he dropped his flashlight into the water. "Oh, God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Get me out of here!" He yelled to the top of the well.

Everyone on top was yelling at each other to 'pull' as they struggled to get to their feet.

"Get me up. Get me up. Come on, guys. Oh, God." Glenn said as he felt himself slowly being lifted.

"Glenn!" Lori yelled.

"Pull him up! Come on! Pull him up!" Shane yelled as they all started pulling harder.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Pull me up! Pull me up!" Glenn said as he saw the Walker getting farther away beneath him. "Get me out of here!" He yelled as he got to the top. He grabbed onto the iron bar as soon as he was able and pulled himself to the top, launching himself onto the dirt beside the well. Everyone ran to him as he fell to the ground and crawled away on his hands and knees.

Lori put her hands on his back and knelt down in front of him. "Are you okay? All right?" Glenn hung his head to the ground as he tried to catch his breath. He slowly sat up on his knees as they all looked from him to the well.

"Back to the drawing board." Dale said from next to Glenn.

Glenn looked up at him as he got to his feet. "Says you." He said as he handed Dale the other rope. He walked away as he started taking the harness off himself.

Dale took the rope and gave it a tug, noting the weight on the other side that was pulling back. They all quickly walked back to the opening of the well and looked down at the roped Walker.

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Kat, Sam and Daryl had been walking for a couple hours before they had made their way into the clearing ahead of them. There was an old, run down, two story house behind a few big oak trees across the clearing.

"Let's check it out." Kat said as she grabbed one of her Ulaks from behind her. A blade in both of her hands, now.

Daryl lifted the strap from his Horton over his head as he took it from his back. He pulled his last bolt from the quiver on the crossbow as he brought it to the front of him while they walked towards the house.

They made their way to the front, stopping at the double doors. Kat tried the door knob while Daryl loaded the bolt into his bow. "Locked." She whispered to him behind her.

He jerked his head to the side as he brought the Horton to his shoulder. Outta the way. She stepped off to the window next to the door, while Sam took the other side. Daryl stood in front of the door and nodded at Kat a second before his foot connected with the wood. The flimsy doors flew open easily as they revealed the inside of the house.

Daryl's eyes quickly scanned the open space in front of them before he took a few cautious steps inside, Kat right behind him, followed by Sam.

"Watch our backs." Kat whispered to him, causing the boy to turn around.

Daryl peered into the room on his left while Kat went straight ahead. He looked into what used to be a bedroom before turning to the room behind him and doing the same. Kat made her way up the stairs in front of them while Sam kept glancing from the front door to the space around him, always watching and listening. Daryl walked past the stairs and towards the room at the back while Sam followed him. He looked inside. Nothing. At all. The room was completely empty. The family that lived here must've moved before all of this happened. Leaving nonessentials behind.

Daryl turned around, seeing Kat at the top of the stairs looking in the rooms, and made his way to the doorway at the bottom of them. The last room on the first floor to be cleared. He held his crossbow tight to his shoulder while he walked into the kitchen. Seeing nothing right away, he walked further into the room, towards the small bathroom in the back. Empty. Sam stood in the doorway while he watched him. Daryl lowered his crossbow as he turned around back into the kitchen.

He looked in the waste basket that was by a cupboard right next to the bathroom door. He saw an empty can of sardines, but the water left in the can hadn't dried up yet. He picked the can up and brought it to his nose. It had been opened fairly recently by whoever ate the small fish. He poured the water out into the trash can as he looked ahead of him. Sam stepped into the room as Daryl looked at the cupboard on the other side of the kitchen, the door to it slightly ajar. He brought his crossbow back up to his shoulder as Sam looked in the direction he was aiming.

As Daryl walked closer to the cupboard, Sam walked further into the room. He stood at the back, behind Daryl as he aimed his Glock towards the cupboard. Daryl looked at the boy over his shoulder, giving him a nod as he reached his hand out to the handle. He quickly pulled the cupboard open, revealing, again, nothing. He and Sam both lowered their weapons as Daryl looked inside. There was a pillow and blankets on the floor under the shelves of the cupboard. Someone had been in here, someone small.

Kat walked down the stairs and into the kitchen while she put her Ulak back in it's sheath. She peeked around the cupboard door from where she was standing to see what Daryl was looking at. She leaned back against the wall as she looked at the boys. "Clear." She said, pointing the combat knife, still in her hand, behind her. "I'm sure you noticed the back door's wide open, though."

Daryl nodded as he looked at Sam, tilting his head towards his sister, making the boy walk out before him as Kat turned around and walked through the door way. Daryl had himself at the rear of their small group with Sam in the middle of them as they turned the corner and walked out the back door. They made their way down the few stairs and to the ground as they felt the Georgia heat hit them again as they walked outside. They all glanced around the backyard for a sign of anybody other than themselves, but coming up short.

"Sophia!" Daryl yelled from the second step at the bottom before coming down the rest. He walked to the side of the house, peeking around the corner before walking back to where Kat and Sam were. "Sophia!"

After looking around the yard and not seeing anything else, they began walking back towards the trees before Daryl veered them off to the side at the sight of a couple familiar white flowers. He walked the three of them over as he knelt down next to them.

"That's Georgia's state flower." Sam said as he got a better look.

"Yeah..Cherokee Rose." Daryl said. He looked behind him at the thirteen year old. "Ya know the legend?"

"Uh..Something about..the Trail of Tears." He made it sound more like a question than an answer.

Daryl looked back at the flowers, playing with the stems, as he repeated the story he grew up being told.

"I think Carol would like that." Kat smiled down at him as he looked up at her when he finished. She looked at the flowers again.

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The Well Walker was growling and snarling as it was being hauled to the surface. Glenn had managed to loop the rope around the Walker as it was grabbing at him in the well. They had a good grip on it, the rope under the thing's arms as they pulled it up. And it was a lot heavier than Glenn. Maggie had gone to get one of the horses and tied the end of the rope to the horn of the saddle, using the horse's power along with theirs to help.

"Come on, guys, pull!" T-Dog shouted. He was standing at the opening of the well, letting them know how much farther they had,. He had the handle of the pump in his hand.

"Come on, y'all!" Shane yelled. "Come on, now."

"Almost there." T-Dog said. "Come on, pull, guys."

"Come on." Shane said as they all pulled on the rope again. "Come on, y'all. Together."

T-Dog looked in the well, hearing the growls getting closer and closer. "Almost there. Come on, pull. Keep it comin."

"Come on, pull. Watch out, Dog." Shane said as he saw the Walker's ugly head come out from the top of the well.

"Nice and easy. Just a little more." T-Dog said as they pulled it out farther. The Walker grabbed at T-Dog's feet as it got out onto the top, causing T to jump out of it's reach. It started growling as he moved away. "Come on, almost there." He said as he brought his hand up to his mouth and nose. "You've gotta pull it, guys. It's stuck! Come on."

The heavy weight Walker's big belly was right on the edge of the well, it's lower half still inside. They were all groaning as they strained, pulling as hard as they could on the rope. Maggie walked the horse a couple more feet, trying to haul the Walker out the rest of the way. It started growling and snarling more as it was being pulled, hearing all of the activity from the people behind it.

"Pull!" Andrea yelled, just as the waterlogged skin of the Walker started to split. She and the group behind her all fell to their backs from the force they'd been pulling with as the weight suddenly lessened.

The lower part of the Walker's body fell back into the well, it's top half being ripped away as it fell onto the dirt outside of the well, spilling blood and entrails all over the ground. They all listened as the lower half fell back into the water along with whatever blood and decaying body parts were attached as the body split in two. The top half of the Well Walker, completely unfazed, just looked behind it, reaching it's hands out for the group of people a few feet away.

"Mm." T-Dog groaned as he looked into the sky, feeling his stomach doing flips at the sight and smell in front of him. Everyone else groaned along with him as they watched the Walker, it's arms reaching for them as it snarled and growled.

"We should seal off this well." Dale said.

Shane rubbed his head with his hand. "Yeah, might be a good idea."

"So what do we do about-"Andrea started to say, but was cut off by T-Dog's grunting as he slammed the pump's handle into the Walker's head several times.

Maggie, who had walked closer to the group, turned away as she let out a whimper and brought her arm up to her mouth. She walked towards the horse as Glenn turned and watched her.

"Good thing we didn't do anythin stupid like shoot it." T-Dog said as he looked at them. He threw the handle on the ground as he turned and walked away.

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After the well mess was cleaned up, Shane, Andrea and Carol had drove to the highway and made their way to the car they wrote a sign on.



They had written across the windshield of a car with white paint in all capital letters. Carol was looking at the words with her hands lightly resting on her bag on the hood of the car. The supplies they had left behind in case she found her way back, were untouched.

Shane and Andrea were standing a few feet behind her as the woman stared at the car. Andrea walked up and came to a stop beside her, putting her hand on Carol's back. "We'll come again tomorrow..You know there's always the chance-"

"Don't." Carol stopped her. "I really don't need to hear it anymore, Andrea..Save the thoughts and prayers." She said as she looked at her before turning her face back to the big, bold letters. Andrea looked at the ground for a second, patting Carol's shoulder as she walked past her.

"You never know, Carol." Shane said, not moving from his spot as he looked around them.

Carol's face twisted as she held her hand up in the air at her side, trying to shut him up. She would not let the tears fall, she kept telling herself as Shane walked past her.

Andrea had seen an area on the map a bit away from the highway they thought would work well for target practice. They were heading there after they gave Carol a few more minutes.

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"We can hang targets along that fence line there." Shane said as they walked further into the open area. "That rise, it gives a natural backstop..It's a good idea."

"Thanks." Andrea said as they walked closer to the fence. "So how long before I can carry?"

Shane chuckled. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"I'm not in a very patient frame of mind these days, Shane. You mighta noticed that."

"No shit." He said, carrying his Mossberg in front of him. "Look, I ain't worried about you offin yourself, even though you got old Dale pissin his pants lately." Andrea looked at him. Shane laughed again. "Yeah, I noticed that, too."

Andrea smiled. "He did come within a minute or so of being blown to hell because of me, to be fair."

Shane stopped walking as he looked out over the area. Andrea stopped and turned to face him. "Look, I see you have the desire for gun work and desire will take you a long way." Shane said to her. "But somethin you need to know, so file this carefully."

"I'm listenin."

"Paper targets is one thing. Easy to hit what ain't movin. But taking down an assailant, one that's tryin to kill you, it's- it's different." He raised his eyebrows as he started walking again. "Cause they say in that kind of situation things slow down. That's crap. They speed up. Adrenaline, haha. It'll cripple you if ya let it." He said as they walked closer to the fence, Carol stood a few feet behind them. "You need to use your instinct. Ya gotta- gotta rule it out." He said as he leaned his shotgun up against the fence post and rested his hands on the fence, Andrea doing the same beside him. "Because somebody is gonna die..and you'd better hope that you're the one who's makin that decision."

"How? I mean, how do you do that?" Andrea asked him. He wasn't looking at her anymore. He was staring at the ground in front of him.

"Turn off a switch. Thee switch..The one that makes you scared or angry, sympathetic, whatever. You don't think. You just- you act." Andrea nodded as he struggled with the visions his mind was playing for him, ghosts from the night before poking at his conscience. "Cause odds are somebody else is countin on you. That's your partner. That's your friend..There ain't nothin easy about takin a man's life no matter how little value it may have...But when you get it done, you have to forget it." He paused for a minute, looking out at the tall grass ahead of them. He chuckled to himself a little. "I guess I haven't quite got that last part down yet, so.." He hung his head.

"But you're getting there?" Andrea gave him a smile.

He looked over at her. "I hope so." He nodded his head, sniffling, trying to repress the guilty tears that were trying to escape. He pushed against the fence. "It's a good spot." He said as he slapped his hand against it. He picked up his shotgun. "It'll do."

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Glenn had listened to the clapping of the horse's hooves on the road for the last few minutes and couldn't take the silence anymore as he kept stealing glances at the pretty stranger accompanying him.

"You know, normally, uh, this is the kinda thing I do on my own. Solo." He laughed. Maggie grimaced at his attempt at small talk. "It's sort of my thing, you know? I'm a loner." He finished, waiting for her to talk to him. She hadn't said a word since they'd left the farm. She kept her eyes on the road in front of them as they entered the town. "You all right?" Glenn asked.

"I'm fine."

Glenn didn't have much experience with women, but he knew enough to tell all was not 'fine'. "I saw the look on your face..back at the well...Never seen one killed up close before?" Glenn looked at the back of her head for a reply as he followed her horse towards the pharmacy. She didn't answer again. In all honesty, it was the first she had seen killed at all. "Guess it's kind of a shock...You know, being out on the road, we've seen a lot. Guess we've gotten a little numb to it." Glenn furrowed his brow.

"Whoa." Maggie pulled the reins, bringing her horse to a stop. "I guess so." She said to Glenn as she got off her horse. He followed her example as she started tying the reins around the pole that held up the awning above the pharmacy.



The cardboard sign in the pharmacy's window read. Glenn took a moment to look at the kind note before following Maggie to the door.

The pharmacy was a mess inside, but at least it didn't smell like death like most of the buildings they'd been to. Most of the shelves were empty, but there were still various items lying all over the place.

"I'll go see what antibiotics are left." Maggie said as she turned to face Glenn as he shut the door behind them. "What else is on the list?"

"Uh..." Glenn reached into his back pocket and grabbed the two pieces of paper he had with him. He handed Maggie the list from the group as he held Lori's tight in his hand. "Why don't you get started?" He said as she took the folded paper from him.

"What about you?" She looked up at him as she unfolded the paper, reading a few of the first lines of text.

"Uh, I'm gonna..look around, see what's worth grabbing." He gestured around the building as she looked at the paper in his hand. "Just some general stuff." He said as he walked next to the door to grab a small hand basket.

Maggie turned around and went to the back of the pharmacy to get the antibiotics they'd come for before getting what she could on the group's list. Glenn watched her walk away before he unfolded Lori's note again. True Blue. He read, as he looked at the small signs above the shelves, not having to look long before finding the one that read "Feminine Hygiene' on the top. He walked in front of the shelf, glancing to the back to make sure Maggie was out of sight before he put his bag down and knelt down on the ground. He started grabbing the boxes and bottles of products that were still there. Baby Shampoo. He read as he turned a bottle around. Don't need that. He put it back on the floor, reaching for a box on the shelf. Tampons. He quickly put the box back down, nervously looking around, although Maggie was still gone.

He looked at the products on the floor and the shelf, quickly scanning through the names he saw, not seeing what he was looking for. He looked at the floor one last time, seeing a box he'd missed, being flustered in the position he was in. It was never this awkward when he went by himself. He didn't want Maggie to turn up, catching him snooping through the women's things, and more importantly, tell her whatever the hell it was he was looking for. It was supposed to stay between he and Lori. He grabbed the purple box, bypassing it before since he was looking for something with the word 'Blue' in it's title. As he held the box up and looked at the picture on the front, he forgot where he was for a moment, a look of realization playing on his features. A pregnancy test? They could hardly keep track of themselves, day to day, and she thought she might be pregnant?

Maggie was putting bottles of antibiotics into her bag as she walked towards the front of the store again. "Whatcha got?" She said as she walked up behind Glenn, her view obstructed from the angle he was kneeling.

"Uhh.." Glenn quickly glanced behind him at her, he was so lost in thought he hadn't heard her walk up to him. "Um.." He shoved the pregnancy test in his bag as he fumbled around for anything to grab. "Nothing. Just," He said as he got to his feet with an unknown box in his hands, "like I said, general stuff." He turned to face her as he turned the box in his hands over to see just what it was he was holding.

"Condoms?" Maggie looked from the box to him. Glenn let out a quick, nervous breath. "You got a girlfriend I don't know about?"

"M-Me? No. No." He said, looking between the box and her. Of all the things I could've grabbed...

"Then you're a pretty confident guy." Maggie raised her eyebrows. She was waiting for the 'it's just for the other guys at camp' explanation she was expecting, but it never came.

Glenn looked at her. He wasn't sure what to say as he fumbled with the box in his hands. He finally put it on the shelf next to them. "No..No, no, no. I-I-I wasn't- I would never-"

"Somethin wrong with me?" Maggie asked, innocently. She kind of liked seeing how nervous and embarrassed he was getting.

"No." Glenn said with a higher voice, like it was obvious. "No, I-I-" Glenn shook his head as he nervously laughed. She smiled, looking at the box again. "I would never have sex-" Glenn closed his eyes for a moment, the more he tried to talk, the worse it was getting. "Uh, I-I'm- I'm lost. I'm-" He swallowed.

Maggie stared at him for a second. "I'll have sex with you." She said, very matter-of-factly.

Glenn blinked, not sure if he heard her right. "Really? ..Why?"

"You're asking questions?" She said, playing the the bag's strap on her shoulder.

"Okay, I can't help wondering."

"It's not like our options are vast these days." She said as she took the bag off, dropping it lightly on the floor next to them. She reached up and took off her brown cowgirl hat, lying it on top of the bag. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she stepped closer to him, grabbing the rim of his baseball cap. She took it off and laid it on the shelf beside them as she gave him a small smile. Her eyes traveled down his smooth face to his lips as she leaned in closer, placing a light kiss on them before pulling back. "And you're not the only one that's lonely."

They stared at each other for a second as Maggie took a step back. She kept her eyes locked with his as her fingers found the bottom of her shirt, lifting it over her head. She let it fall to the floor as she reached behind her to undo the clasp on her bra.

Glenn tried his hardest to keep his eyes on hers, but the second she took her bra off, his eyes traveled down. He laughed nervously as he peeled his eyes away from her. "Wow." He smiled once he found her face again. He couldn't believe this was happening.

She smiled and grabbed the box of condoms he'd laid down, holding them in front of her as she stared at him, expectantly.

He glanced at the box in her hands then back up to the half naked girl. "Oh." He breathed, grabbing the edge of his shirt and quickly yanking it from his body. He threw it on the floor next to him as he faced her. She gave him a comforting smile as he nervously stepped forward, her hands going to his shoulders as his found her face.

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Hershel and Rick had returned from their little excursion, and were walking towards the house when they stopped at the front steps. They both turned to look across the yard where the group had set up camp. Shane was by the fire they'd started with a pot of beans, laying it on the rocks next to it to let them heat up. Carol and T-Dog were sitting in a couple of lawn chairs as Carol cleaned T-Dog's wound and changed his bandage. They weren't looking over their shoulders with worried faces like they had been when they were sleeping out in the open, before.

"You need to reconsider." Rick said, turning his head slightly to address the man behind him.

"I beg your pardon?" Hershel said.

"Askin us to leave. You need to reconsider." Rick turned around to look him in the eyes. Hershel didn't answer him. "If you saw how it is out there you wouldn't ask...You're a man of belief. If you believe anything, believe that."

"You're puttin me on the spot." Hershel pulled his eyebrows together.

"Well, I mean to." Rick nodded his head as he took a couple steps closer. "Those people look to me for answers." He said as he held his arm out and pointed in the direction of the camp. "I wish they didn't, but they do. But I-I'm not askin for them or myself." He looked towards the house for a second before he continued. "I'm askin for my boy. After the price your friend Otis paid, the least you can do is give it some thought."

"You're a plainspoken man."

"I'm a father." Rick said. He walked closer to the brick steps leading to the porch. "He's the one thing I don't wanna fail." Rick said, sitting down as he reached them. He rested his elbows on his knees and linked his hands together. "I feel like I do everyday." he said as he looked up at Hershel before turning his eyes to the ground in front of him. "I lied to him this morning...Wasn't a big lie, but it was enough."

Hershel put one of his legs on the steps as he leaned against his cane. He watched the steps as he talked. "My father didn't bother with comforting lies. He used his fist. He was a loveless, violent drunk and no good to anybody. He drove me from home when I was 15. Didn't lay eyes on this place again for many years." He said as he looked from Rick to the house. "I was not at his deathbed, Rick. I would not grant him that and to this day do not regret it. Some men do not earn the love of their sons." Hershel leaned his cane on the steps as he turned and sat down next to Rick. "I don't see you having that problem."

"Will you consider my request?"

"There are aspects to this, things that I can't and won't discuss. But if you and your people respect my rules, no promises, but I will consider it. You have my word."

Rick nodded as the two of them stood up. "You have mine." Rick said as he shook Hershel's hand.

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Kat, Daryl and Sam were making their way over to the little camp as they saw Dylan walking towards them.

"Oh, Christ." Dylan sighed as soon as he saw Sam walking up to him with Kat.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you..He went with me. Then we..ran into Daryl." Kat looked at Sam with a smile, spreading one on his face. He half expected Kat to tell Dylan he'd snuck off. But he was sure the kind gesture came with a silent warning.

"Yeah, he said he thought he saw Sam go with you, but you know." Dylan shrugged his shoulders. "I just, wasn't sure." He shook his head. "You want help with that?" He tilted his head to the couple rabbits Daryl was carrying and eyed the flower Kat had in her hands suspiciously.

"We got it." Kat said. She put her hand on Sam's shoulder, pushing him gently to the boy's tent. "Go change into something a little more clean." Sam rolled his eyes but walked to his tent with Dylan.

Kat followed Daryl to his tent at the edge of the group while he leaned inside to go grab something from his bag.

"Umm..Are we cleaning them in your tent?" Kat raised her eyebrows and laughed a little, not sure what he was doing. He already had his knife on him. He pulled out a bottle of beer.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders when he saw her eyebrows pull together. "Need somethin to put that in." He tilted his head to the flower in her hands.

"Ah." She nodded as she pulled her Silver Trident she used for hunting out and they walked behind his tent, to shield themselves from the others. Kat was used to it, but she knew the sight of something being gutted could definitely chase away one's appetite. She sat down on the dirt behind the nylon wall, spreading her legs out and bending them at the knees in front of her while Daryl plopped down beside her. He handed her a rabbit then took the cap off the beer in his other hand. He took a couple big swigs before he put it down between them and grabbed his Busse.

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He was kind of liking this. He remembered the times in camp before she came along. The other women would see him cleaning their dinner, but instead of being thankful, they would put their hand over their mouth, turn and walk the other way.

She didn't make a face, complain or stop the whole time they were cleaning the rabbit's he'd got, and she was actually a little faster than he was. Her cuts were quick and sure. Why the hell was he getting a little turned on? Just like the time he'd seen her at the Robertson's store when she'd gotten back from hunting with her brothers. This girl had no problem getting down and dirty with the boys. He shook his head as his thoughts started to get away from him. Kat took her eyes off her work to glance at him when he cleared his throat before he took another swig from the beer, almost gone now.

"Ew." She laughed a little as she shook her head at him. He looked at her, confused. "How can you drink that warm?"

"Not so bad." He shrugged his shoulders, giving her that familiar half smile she'd liked from the first time she saw it, months ago.

"Ugh. I always had to have mine cold. That's gross." She laughed again.

"Says the girl with rabbit's blood all over her hands an a pile a guts next to her." Daryl raised his eyebrows, draining the last of the beer into his mouth. She just shook her head with a smile as they started to get up. He leaned over to grab the bag they'd been putting the entrails in, they'd bury it later.

The two of them walked to the well near the house with a bucket and towels to clean their hands off with. They did so mostly in silence, stealing a few glances at each other every now and then.

"Old Man Robertson teach you everythin?" Daryl said when they were almost done.

Kat assumed he was talking about her game-cleaning experience. "Yeah..Jason too, but it was mostly Phil..Always said he 'didn't want no sissy girl in the family'..He sorta treated me like a daughter." She laughed. "Guess he kinda got what he wanted." She held up her other hand, her fingers still a little bloody. "Him and Kay didn't have a daughter, all boys..And I come from a family of boys, so, I guess being kind of a tomboy was in the cards." She shrugged.

Daryl looked at his hands while he wiped them off. "Ya ain't all rough." He thought back to the times he'd seen her dressed up, heels, and with makeup on. The lipstick kiss she'd left him on a napkin with her number one night. He licked his lips unconsciously while he thought back to the night she was dancing up on the bar with her friend. The action didn't go unnoticed by Kat. He threw the rag in the bucket before he pumped the well's handle again, filling the beer bottle with a little water.

Kat chuckled. "I have my moments..Let's head back." She tilted her head in the direction of their camp.

Daryl plucked a piece of the tall, tasseled prairie grass and put it in his mouth as they walked back, chewing the part in his mouth like gum. Kat glanced over after a few seconds, seeing him take it out, flip it to the other end, and put it back in. She raised her eyebrows a bit when she saw a knot in the stem on the end that had been in his mouth a minute ago.

"Did you do that with your tongue?" Kat said before she could stop herself.

Daryl took the piece of grass out of his mouth, holding up the end. "Yeah..Why?" He'd been able to do that since he was a kid, it was nothing new to him.

She just shook her head and laughed as they kept walking. It was Kat's turn to clear her throat this time. He looked at her, a little confused, for a few seconds before it clicked. Ohh..Daryl thought as he looked at her again. At least he wasn't the only one whose thoughts got away from him sometimes. It made him a little giddy, knowing she may have been thinking about him like he'd thought about her. He smirked as he put the blade of grass back in his mouth. Try as she might, Kat couldn't stop thinking about his tongue the rest of their walk back to camp.

They got to the picnic table in front of the fire as Daryl set the beer bottle down. Kat smiled at it. The Dixon touch. She thought. Who knew a beer bottle would make a nice vase?

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Glenn was smiling from ear to ear as he and Maggie rode up to the house on the horses. Maggie glanced at him, a blank expression on her face, trying to give nothing away of what they just did, but he wasn't getting the hint.

"I-" Glenn started.

"Don't spoil it." Maggie said.

"So it was good." He smiled wider.

"It was a one-time thing." She said. Maybe that would tone him down a bit, because the giant smile he wore was going to give them away to somebody.

They got off their horses, Maggie leaving Glenn to tie them to the tree while she took the supplies into the house. She would take them back to the stables when she was done. Her father, seeing them return, met her before the steps.

"Everything go okay?" He asked as he approached.

"Fine." She nodded her head as she stopped in front of him with a smile, the bag over her shoulder again. "Nothin happened." She shrugged her shoulders as she started walking to the house. Hershel turned to Glenn and gave him a nod for going with her before he turned and followed after her.

Lori, who had also seen them coming back, was now down the stairs and making a beeline to Glenn. She gave Hershel and Maggie a quick smile as she passed them. She lowered her voice a bit as she got closer. "Did ya find it?" She stopped in front of him and started biting at her nail.

Glenn looked like a scolded child as he took the book bag off his back. He held it in front of him as he reached into the front of the backpack and pulled out a small white paper bag he'd managed to snag before he and Maggie left the pharmacy. He handed it out to her and she quickly took it, bringing it behind her back and tucking it into her waistband. Lori looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him not to open his mouth about what she'd asked him to get. Neither one said anything as Glenn walked past her. She had, in a way, confided in him. He would keep his mouth shut for her.

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Daryl left Kat at the fire to start on the rabbits as he picked the beer bottled flower up off the table and walked to the RV. He opened the door as he stepped inside, looking around. It was a lot tidier than the last time he'd been in here the night before. The dishes were clean and neatly stacked by the sink and there were no sleeping bags or clothes laying out. He wiggled the blade of grass he was still chewing on with his tongue as he slowly made his way to the back of the RV.

He turned himself sideways as he stood in the opening that separated the small hall way from the back room of the RV, shielding the flower in his hand from Carol's view as he looked in at her. She was sitting on one of the seats in the back.

She glanced up from her work when his form filled the doorway. "I cleaned up..Wanted it to be nice for her." She said as she continued to mend the hole in the blanket in her hands.

Daryl nodded, looking back at the sink before he turned towards her again. "For a second I thought I was in the wrong place." Carol smiled up at him before going back to the blanket, sticking the needle into the fabric again.

Daryl watched her for a second before leaning over and placing the flower on the small counter next to the door. At the sound of the glass bottle being placed on the hard surface, Carol looked up, furrowing her brow a bit before her face softened again. "A flower?"

Daryl took the piece of grass from his mouth with his hand, pointing towards the beer bottle with it before he let his hands rest at his sides. "It's a Cherokee Rose." Daryl lowered his voice as he watched her look from him to the flower. She recognized it, but didn't understand. He took a small step into the room as he looked at the flower again before turning to her. "The-The story is that when American soldiers were movin Indians off their land, on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin and cryin so much cause they were losin their little ones along the way, from exposure and disease, and starvation. A lot of em just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mother's spirits, give em strength..Hope." Carol looked at the flower again, vaguely aware of the blanket in her hands as she looked back at him. "The next day this rose started to grow right where the mother's tears fell." Daryl looked down at the grass in his hands as he started fiddling with it. "I'm not..fool enough to think there's any flowers bloomin for my brother." Carol wiped the tears that slipped from her eyes away as she looked at him. "But I- I believe this one," Daryl titled his head to the flower, looking at it before he turned back to her, "bloomed for your little girl."

Carol smiled as she looked away from him, willing herself not to cry more, but knew it was a futile attempt. She met his eyes again before turning hers down to the blanket on her lap with a small laugh. She had never paid him much mind in camp before. He was always glued to his rude brother's side and didn't talk much. This is the most he'd spoken to her, directly, since they had met in the camp a few weeks ago, and the story behind the small gift, touched her.

Daryl pulled one side of his mouth up into a half smile before he let it fall again, but she hadn't seen it. She had her eyes glued to the blanket, trying to see the needle through blurred vision from the tears. Daryl looked at the flower again before he turned around and quietly walked to the front of the RV. He chewed on the inside of his lip as he stopped before the door, making Carol look up at him. "She's gonna really like it in here." He said to her, earning another smile. He looked down at the blade of grass he was still playing with as he opened the door and walked back over to Kat.

He told himself he'd look high and low to try and find that little girl. It's what he wanted for himself when a 7 year old Daryl was alone in the woods. No one looking for him. No one to even care. He'd find that little girl if it was the death of him.

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Carl moved around in the bed as he started to wake up again. He'd been in and out of consciousness all day. He slowly blinked his eyes, opening them to the dim light in the room, searching for his parents. He looked to his side, seeing his father leaning back in a chair, barely awake. "Hey, Dad." He said with a quiet voice.

Rick rubbed at his eyes. "Hey." He gave him a sleepy smile Carl returned with one of his own. Rick cleared his throat as he sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked down at his hands. "Carl,..I told you somethin earlier today about Sophia-" He said as he looked at him.

"I know. Mom told me."

Rick smiled. "Here I was gettin ready to confess...I didn't mean to lie. I just didn't wanna worry you. It's a stupid excuse but it's all I got." He shook his head.

"It's okay...Do you think we'll find her?"

"I know we will." Rick said, but looked back down at his hands as he thought about it for a second. Lying again. "Well.." He sighed. "I don't..know. But I truly believe it."

"You look tired." Carl said as he looked at his dad's face.

Rick chuckled. "Am tired."

Carl's eye's got wide as he realized something. "Hey, I'm like you now. We've both been shot." He smiled as his hand went to the bandage on his stomach. "Isn't that weird?" He laughed a bit with his father.

Rick nodded. "Yeah, I think your mother would rather hear we got the same eyes. So let's keep that between us." He said as he unpinned the badge from the hat in his hands. Carl laughed again as he looked at his father's hat. "Since you're in the club now, you get to wear the hat. Didn't you know?" Rick leaned forward, placing his sheriff's hat on the boy's head. Carl giggled as the brim kept covering his eyes due to the position he was in, lying on a couple pillows. He positioned the hat higher on his head so he could see his father.

"We'll pad the rim tomorrow so it sits better." Rick smiled, seeing it was far too big for his son's head.

Carl grabbed the brim again, looking up at it. "Won't you miss it?"

Rick looked away for a second. "Maybe you'll let me borrow it from time to time."

"We can share it." Carl nodded.

"Okay." Rick smiled at his son. "Sleep now." Rick said as he grabbed the blankets and pulled them up around Carl.

"Okay..I love you, Dad."

"I love you." Rick said once he sat back in his chair, again.

Carl sank further down on the pillows, letting the hat fall over his eyes to shield them from the light in the room as he drifted back off to sleep.

Rick stared down at the badge in his hands he'd taken off the hat. He wasn't still a sheriff, now. The world wasn't what it used to be. With every day that went by, hope that it would return to normal, slipped further away.

He got up from his seat and walked to the dresser in the room. He placed his badge on the wooden top as he unpinned his other badge from his shirt and placed it next to the other. Lori stood in the doorway as she watched him take off his uniform. He unbuttoned his brown shirt and untucked it from his pants, taking it off his shoulders. He brought it around to the front of him as he folded it up. He opened the top drawer of the dresser and laid the shirt inside, then grabbed his badges. He gently laid them on top of the shirt as he looked down at them. He glanced up to himself in the mirror that was attached to the dresser, finally noticing Lori standing in the doorway in the reflection.

She walked into the room and over to him, looking at a sleeping Carl on her way past. Lori came to stand behind Rick, as she helped him take his brown under-shirt off. She laid it on the dresser in front of them as they looked in the mirror. Her hand went to his side, where his own gunshot wound was, almost completely healed, now. The skin where the doctors had stitched him together, still pink, starting to form a scar. She looked at it in the mirror as he looked down at his uniform and badges.

"Are you puttin them away?" She whispered.

He looked back up at her in the mirror for a second before he slowly pushed the drawer closed. Lori wrapped her arms around him from behind, Rick resting his own over them as she laid her head on his shoulder. He leaned his own head back, resting it against hers as she placed light kisses up his neck.

"Stay with him a while longer. I'll wait up." She said, letting go of him as she walked out of the room.

Lori made her way out of the house and into the night, over towards their camp. Most of the group were either in their tents for the night or inside the RV finishing up their dinner. She stood amidst the tents surrounding her for a second as she took a deep breath. She pulled a switchblade out of her pocket and held it tightly in her hand. She could see Dale, Carol, Andrea and Dylan sitting at the table in the RV as she walked past. She walked out of the light coming from inside the RV and further into the field beyond their area, glancing behind her to make sure no one noticed.

She walked until she came to a log laying in the tall grass that would provide her with a little more privacy. She looked around her, making sure the immediate area was clear, from anything both living, or dead. She jammed the knife into the dead log as she reached behind her, pulling the bag from the waistband of her pants. She'd gotten rid of the box earlier, so the bag only contained the pregnancy test, itself. She threw the bag on the ground and pulled the cap off of the stick before she undid her belt and pants. She squatted down behind the log and held the absorbent tip under her.

It was the longest three minutes of her life as she sat there and counted in her head. She kept the pregnancy test facing down as she counted to herself. Once she got to 180, she flipped the test over and looked at the little indicator screen. She started taking short, quick breaths as she stared down at the little pink plus.

A part of her had hoped that her period was just late because of the stress they had all been under lately. But she pulled her eyebrows together as it confirmed her fears. It was positive. Lori held back a sob as she let the test fall from her hands. She looked around the ground in front of her, taking deep breaths as she tried to come to terms with everything this meant, but it was too overwhelming. She hung her head as she quietly let the tears fall from her eyes.